


The King And The Fool

by seungbincore



Series: paint the world you want to see [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Blood and Injury, Crossover Cameos - Freeform, Fantasy Creatures, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Magic, Non-Binary Felix, Original Character(s), Pirates, Swordfighting, Temporary Death, all of skz are magic to varying degrees, enby felix, explicit violence, felix is a forest nymph, for now, implied hyunin, minchan side pairing if you squint, self discovery, seungbin main pairing, seungmin centric, slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 100,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26335786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seungbincore/pseuds/seungbincore
Summary: “Defeat an overpowered king who’s slowly killing an entire world in the paintings you left behind”, should be easy, right?Wrong. Seungmin comes to learn that it is very much not easy, especially when he knows nothing about his enemy. Not to mention, he’s spent 22 years of his life living like any normal person. He has a job, he’s a university student, and his life is anything but magical. So when he’s suddenly thrown into this 'destiny' of his, and given magic he had no idea he had, what the hell is he supposed to do?He left the paintings behind, he sure as hell didn’t want to end up saving the heart of it all, risking his and his best friends’ lives, and oh yeah, become a king.And yet, here he is.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Series: paint the world you want to see [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913722
Comments: 34
Kudos: 144





	1. the world in the painting

**Author's Note:**

> hi !! i'm here with a fantasy au :O 
> 
> this has been in the works since early February and i debated back and forth a couple of times about whether or not to post this at all but this has become sort of like my baby(?) and i want to be able to share this very complicated world and story with you.
> 
> I've only scratched the surface of what this story has to offer, and i've already begun working on a second part, but I can't guarantee it'll be out before the year is up. it will come though! there's so much story to share and loose ends to tie up from this.
> 
> also this part focuses mostly on seungbin's story in particular, so it will be mostly centered on how they fall for each other. however, i wove plot into it subtly (i hope). other parts will revolve more around the world, politics, and magic itself!
> 
> this is already completed so i will be updating weekly! Always on mondays, although i might post the last two chapters together. we'll see hehe
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoy this whirlwind of a story, i hope things makes sense, and i hope you stick around to the end!!
> 
> EDIT :: if ur here to reread, yes i changed the description because i felt like the other one wasn't ... enough. for new readers? well, i hope you enjoy ^-^

_You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you_ _._

There are four things you must know about Kim Seungmin.

One, he’s an all As student, top of his class, majoring in visual arts at the prestigious art college he and his friends attend, and all of his professors love him.

Two, he works in the little record store just down the street from his school. It’s not perfect, but the pay is enough to get him through the week, so he's satisfied, at least.

Three, his best friends are Yang Jeongin and Hwang Hyunjin. They’ve been with him since elementary school and the three of them are inseparable. 

Four, he can walk through paintings.

Yes, you read that right. Walk through paintings. 

He was six the first time it happened, and he almost got trampled. He was fourteen the second time it happened, and was almost caught by a king. The third time it happened, he was a little more versed on the history behind what are called, “realm jumpers”, and could comfortably do it without almost dying or getting caught.

He used to travel through the paintings a lot more when he was younger, but he hasn’t really looked for or gone through one since junior year of highschool. Real life kind of took over after a while, and he was forced to leave them behind, like a dream or a memory. Or an old toy.

(Even though he still dreamt about a masked stranger with ice blue eyes, a fuzzy silhouette, soldiers made of smoke mounted on the backs of black, red-eyed steeds, and the castle in the world beyond the paintings. He ignored them as best he could, telling himself they were nothing more than _dreams._ )

  
  
  


“Your total is $30.93.” Seungmin says with a smile as he sets a bag with two records in it on top of the counter and slides it towards the customer. With a smile, she passes him her card, and he swipes it for her.

“Have a good day.” He tells her as she takes her card and bag and makes her exit without so much of a goodbye. Typical, but it’s fine. He doesn’t really care.

Business is slow today, Seungmin thinks, as he watches the total of three people mill about the store, searching through stacks and stacks of CDS, records, and the small collection of movies. So he doesn’t really feel bad when he puts on a song from his favorite band, smiling to himself as the music starts to play over the speakers. 

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin calls from the back room. Humming questioningly, Seungmin looks over at his friend as the boy emerges and drapes himself over the counter. “Do you wanna do something tonight?”

Seungmin hesitates. Part of him just wanted to stay in and sleep early, but it’s been a while since he did anything with his friends. With a smile, he nods in response to Hyunjin. “Yeah, should we bring Jeongin?”

Hyunjin’s face lights up immediately. “Sure.”

“Cool.” Seungmin feels his heart swell at the sight of utter joy on his friend's face. One of the shoppers comes up and sets their things on the counter at Hyunjin’s register, and Seungmin points at them. “Your turn.”

Hyunjin groans, smushing his cheek against the counter before he stands to tend to the customer. Seungmin just laughs and taps the counter. He wants to get out of here now and spend some time with his friends. 

  
  
  


The bar is in the early hours of its crowds when the three finally make it, most of the tables still empty of patrons. Hyunjin breaks away from Jeongin’s side to order them drinks while the other two settle into a booth near the back. 

“You’ve been quiet the past couple days,” Jeongin comments. 

Seungmin looks at his friend in confusion. “I’m always quiet.”

“Quieter than usual, then.” 

Seungmin chews on his bottom lip. True, he had been a little more distracted the past couple of days. He had a dream that he couldn’t shake, but the only thing he can remember is a voice. It was bothering him, but he didn’t realize it was obvious. 

“Just got a lot on my mind, I guess.” He shrugs.

Jeongin sighs and reaches across the table, grasping his hand. “I’m here if you need to unload any of it.”

“Thanks.” Seungmin whispers, squeezing Jeongin’s hand gently. 

The table falls silent again, their attentions elsewhere—Jeongin on his phone, and Seungmin on his friend at the bar. Hyunjin throws a glance over his shoulder and smiles at Seungmin, wiggling his fingers in a wave. When the bartender pushes a tray towards him, Hyunjin thanks them and takes the tray, finally returning to his friends.

“To us!” Hyunjin cheers, plopping down at their booth and setting down the tray of drinks. Seungmin had ordered a simple white wine, Jeongin had ordered something fruity and bright pink, and Hyunjin had ordered a rum coke. 

“What are we toasting?” Jeongin snorts, plucking the cherry off the top of his fizzing drink and popping it into his mouth.

“For making it through a year and three quarters at that damned school.” Hyunjin sighs, reclining in his seat and subtly (not really) throwing an arm behind Jeongin. Immediately, Jeongin gravitates towards his warmth.

Seungmin just rolls his eyes. “Complain all you want, Jinnie, we all know you’re top of your class.” He points at his friend, who scrunches up his nose defiantly. “Your professor has even offered you the dance solo for the end of the year performing arts festival.”

“He has, you’re right, Seungmin! I had no idea!” Hyunjin gasps, faux shock in his voice. “It’s not like he’s been pressuring me about it everyday for the past month and half.”

“Are you gonna accept?” Jeongin asks, playing absently with his straw.

Hyunjin shrugs, and launches into some rant about the dance program and the festival, but Seungmin doesn’t hear it. 

His attention is drawn to a group of three in the corner booth near the back of the bar. Two of them, he couldn’t see very well, were chatting quietly to each other, but the other is staring at him instead, eyes dark in the dim light of the bar. The hairs on the back of Seungmin’s neck rise and a shiver shoots down his spine, like electric shocks, the second he actually locks eyes with the stranger.

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin calls, but he barely hears it. The man he was locked in a staring contest with sets his drink down, shifts in his seat, and suddenly Seungmin fears he’s about to approach him, when his friend nudges him. The staring match is broken as the stranger’s attention is suddenly on his companions.

“Seungmin!” Hyunjin says a little more forcefully. Seungmin blinks a couple times, turning his focus to his friend, who’s staring at him in worry. “You in there, buddy?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Seungmin nods, sparing one more glance at the other table, only to see it vacated, nothing left behind, not even the drinks. He wonders then if he had imagined the trio, and quickly sets his wine down. “Lost in thought, I guess. What were we talking about?”

Hyunjin frowns for a split second, and looks as though he wants to ask something more, but instead he shrugs and takes another sip of his drink. “We were just discussing spring break plans.”

“Which isn’t for a few months still.” Jeongin mutters, but there’s a smile on his face.

“Well, excuse me for being prepared!” Hyunjin scoffs, but he has a matching smile on his face when he sees Jeongin’s.

Seungmin can only roll his eyes again at his friends’ obliviousness, and lets them dissolve into their own chatter. He’s still unable to shake the weird feeling from the strange man, and he can’t help but think that it had _something_ to do with the paintings. Anything mysterious that happened to him always linked back to them.

And he wasn’t ready for that.

He had left the paintings behind, left behind the strange worlds on the other side, left behind the secrets they held. He didn't want to get sucked back into all of that.

Besides, a stranger he had met his first time in that world, their face shrouded by a black mask, leaving only their ice-blue eyes visible, had told him to not return until it was _“time to come back”,_ whatever that meant. It wasn’t too late to listen now, right?

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin couldn’t stop thinking about the man in the bar.

He was distracted from schoolwork, to the point his friends were starting to pick up on it. They didn't ask, but Seungmin could feel them watching him whenever they were together.

He tried his best to focus, but his mind kept wandering to the weird electric shocks he felt that night. As the week dragged on, he started to feel more and more tempted to run off to the library with his various notebooks filled with information he had collected about realm jumpers and the paintings and scour them as he had done so often years ago.

And then Seo Changbin happened.

Everyone in school knew the story by the time the last class ended that Friday. That Bang Chan and Han Jisung had returned that morning without the final piece of their trio, that Seo Changbin had mysteriously disappeared on one of their nightly adventures. Seungmin had never really paid the three much attention, writing them off as any other student. Truthfully, he never really paid attention to anyone except Hyunjin and Jeongin and his studies. 

(Hyunjin liked to tease him, telling him he would die a virgin because he was “married to his textbooks”. 

“ _Hyunjin!”_ Jeongin would snap back in a chiding tone. “You can’t just _say_ things like that!”

Hyunjin would retort with some dumb, witty remark and Jeongin would roll his eyes in a fond sort of exasperation. Seungmin would just smile to himself.)

“They’ve always been a little… weird, though, don't you think?” Jeongin pipes up at lunch that afternoon. About two weeks and three days have passed since Seo Changbin’s disappearance.

The three were in their usual spot in the arts cafeteria with their handmade lunches. Usually, they would engage in their own small talk about their respective courses that semester, but today, they could only watch Chan and Jisung from a distance, since it was the first time they had come back to school since the _incident_. 

They looked pitiful.

“I don’t know, they keep to themselves mostly. Jisung’s kinda cute and the very few times I’ve spoken to Chan, he’s always been real nice.” Hyunjin shrugs and pops a fruit gummy in his mouth.

“Changbin was always super scary.” Jeongin lowers his voice when he says that, his eyes darting around as if Changbin himself might pop out of nowhere.

“He was not!” Hyunjin exclaims, flicking Jeongin’s ear. Jeongin yelps in pain and immediately rears on Hyunjin. They dissolve into their usual bickering after that; Seungmin just ignores them.

He observes the two across from him and his friends instead. They were huddled together, shoulders hunched and faces grim. He wonders if they’re grieving their missing friend. Some part of him felt like he had to do something, _anything,_ to comfort Chan and Jisung since no one was even giving them a second glance – and the ones who did, did it judgingly.

His body acted before his mind could stop him.

He could hear his friends calling his name somewhere off to the side, but he paid them no attention. He just focused on crossing the cafeteria and he came to a stop in front of Chan and Jisung. Chan looks up at Seungmin, confusion written all over his face, while Jisung tenses at the arrival of someone new and keeps his gaze pointed on the tray of untouched food in front of him.

“I’m sorry about your friend.” Is the first thing that left Seungmin’s mouth. He doesn't understand why he’s doing this, seeing as he wasn’t the most sociable person when it came to anyone else outside of his friends. “I’m sorry- that was so random- I-I just—”

“Thank you.” Chan cuts him off. Seungmin watches the man’s shoulders relax, as though a weight was lifted off of him. “You’re the first person to say that to us.”

Seungmin feels his own cheeks heat up. “I know what it’s like to lose someone. I lost my mom when I was young, and I miss her everyday and-and – sorry, this isn’t about me.” His cheeks darken in color and he sucks in a deep breath. “What I mean to say is, I hope you find him soon. No one deserves to lose someone dear to them.”

“Thank you.” Jisung finally speaks, his voice smaller than Chan’s. He sniffles and wipes his nose as he sits up straight, giving Seungmin a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m sorry about your mom, too.”

“Thanks. I am too...” Seungmin responds resignedly, his gaze trailing down.

Chan and Jisung fall quiet, as if unsure of what to say. Finally, Jisung reaches up and delicately takes Seungmin’s hand with his own. When Seungmin meets the boy’s eyes, Jisung is staring back at him with wide, curious eyes. “What’s your name?” 

“U-Um… Kim Seungmin?” Seungmin cringes at his own voice crack.

Vaguely, Seungmin notices Chan’s expression shift.

“Is that a question or a statement?” Jisung asks, his demeanor having shifted considerably suddenly. 

“A statement.” Seungmin responds, trying to ignore how weird he feels suddenly.

To Seungmin’s confusion (and mild horror), Jisung _smiles_ , wide and mischievous, as though he knows a secret that Seungmin doesn’t. Seungmin could feel Chan’s eyes on him, picking him apart. He wanted to run.

“Well, Nice to meet you, Kim Seungmin. I have a feeling our paths will be crossing again soon.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Turns out ‘soon’ was the next day.

When Chan and Jisung sat with Seungmin and his friends, Hyunjin looked at them with wide eyes, his mouth agape and Jeongin pointedly stared at the sandwich in his hands, but he wasn't eating it. It was clear neither of them knew what to say or how to react to their arrival and truthfully Seungmin was a little shocked as well. 

Seungmin looks between his friends, trying to get their attention to urge one of them to speak. When it becomes apparent neither of them are going to say anything, Seungmin rolls his eyes and turns his attention to the newcomers. “Is there something you need?” He asks in his best, ‘be nice to strangers’ voice. He may not be the social butterfly that some were, but his father had raised a polite man. 

“We wanted to-” Chan starts, but Jisung cuts him off unknowingly.

“I know I’m pretty, but staring is rude.” Jisung muses as his eyes slide from Seungmin to Hyunjin. He regards the boy with a certain glint in his eyes, a smirk slowly taking over his features. Hyunjin’s eyes widen even more and his cheeks redden. Seungmin is positive his eyes would just pop right out of his skull if they widened anymore.

Jeongin shoves Hyunjin. “Stop staring, idiot.” He hisses. Seungmin meets his eyes, and Jeongin just scowls as his cheeks turn pink. 

Hyunjin quickly averts his gaze, the red of his cheeks deepening further. Jisung snorts, his eyes lingering on Hyunjin a moment longer before turning his attention to Seungmin. “If you want us to leave we will.”

Seungmin blinks, opening his mouth to tell them to do just that, only to be stopped by a small voice at the back of his mind telling him he _needed_ them where he could see them. Not out of suspicion, but out of a weird and unexplainable and _extremely_ overwhelming protective instinct deep in his chest. So he just shakes his head and clamps his mouth shut. Jeongin and Hyunjin gawk at him.

For the first time ever, lunch is silent that day.

Everyday after that, Chan and Jisung sat with them. Chan was mostly quiet, observing Seungmin and his friends (mostly Seungmin), while Jisung made it a point that Hyunjin and Jeongin knew everything and anything about himself. He talked too much sometimes, even when he had food in his mouth. By the end of the first week, Seungmin was on the verge of snapping at him.

(“It’s kind of endearing.” Hyunjin had said late one night while he and Seungmin were settling down for a movie on Hyunjin’s bed. 

Seungmin looked at him in horror. “He’s _annoying!_ How can someone talk that much?!” He exclaimed. “And he talks with food in his mouth! How can you find that ‘ _endearing_ ’?!”

Hyunjin just giggled and snuggled into his friend’s side, pressing play on his computer. “You’ll understand when you’re older.” He responded teasingly.

“Sometimes you have terrible taste in men.” Is all Seungmin muttered before both of them got absorbed in the movie.)

In the middle of the following week, Hyunjin, Jeongin and Seungmin spend their lunch break in an empty classroom rather than the cafeteria (Courtesy of Seungmin; he needed a break from Jisung’s loud mouth and Chan’s silent stares). Jeongin was practicing some sheet music on his violin and Hyunjin was swaying along to the music as he ate his food, while Seungmin let his thoughts drift into nothing interesting.

“I think you’re off a note.” Hyunjin says as Jeongin finishes playing the measures his professor had assigned.

“How am I off a note?” Jeongin huffs, but there’s no real bite to his words as he scans the sheet music in front of him. “I’m not off, you're just tone deaf.”

“Is tone deaf the correct term for that?” Seungmin asks from where he sits at one of the desks near the middle of the room, a half finished sandwich in front of him. Jeongin shares a glance with Hyunjin and they both shrug. All of three of them break into giggles.

Jeongin is the first to sober, and he sets his violin under his chin once more. With a slow inhale and a deep exhale, he begins playing the measures once more. Any amusement dancing his eyes melts away into careful concentration as he tunes out everything around him.

Hyunjin slides off the desk he was perched on and walks over to Seungmin, sitting in the seat next to him. Seungmin only spares him a quick glance before becoming very interested in his sandwich as his friend speaks. “Chan and Jisung are interesting, don’t you think?”

“Sure,” Seungmin shrugs. “You could say that.”

“What did you say to them that prompted them to start joining us?” Hyunjin asks. Jeongin’s music is still slow, but Seungmin has heard this symphony enough to know that the crescendo is coming soon.

Another shrug. “I just told them I was sorry they lost their friend.” He answers as he picks at the plastic wrap for his sandwich. He wasn’t going to tell Hyunjin about the complete change in mood when he told his name.

“Maybe they like you and are trying to win your affections.” Hyunjin snickers.

“Shut up.” Seungmin hisses, his ears heating up. Hyunjin laughs a little louder. 

They both fall quiet for a moment, focusing on Jeongin as the crescendo begins. Their friend is lost in the music, in the drag of his bow across the strings. He plays passionately enough for a whole orchestra, Seungmin thinks, the way his body moves with the beat, the way his eyes flutter closed. Watching Jeongin play his instrument has always been one of Seungmin’s favorite past times.

One glance at Hyunjin, and the starstruck expression on his face, has Seungmin realizing that he probably feels exactly the same.

“I think you two need to talk about some things.” Seungmin says softly, his gaze trailing back to Jeongin.

Hyunjin makes a confused sound. “Like what?”

Seungmin glances at him, and then at Jeongin again. “Do you like Jisung?”

His friend doesn’t answer immediately, but Seungmin can hear him thinking. Finally, “He’s… I mean, he’s attractive, I guess. And flirts like there’s no tomorrow. And he has some sweet qualities, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t know.” Is all Hyunjin responds with. Seungmin looks at him again, and Hyunjin is staring at Jeongin, a near unreadable expression on his face. Seungmin would almost place it as longing, but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Alright.” He sighs, and turns his attention to his food.

“What do you think of them?” Hyunjin asks. “Chan and Jisung, I mean.”

Well, Seungmin thinks, _they’re strange, that’s for sure._ Deep down, he feels a pull to them. Like they’re connected by a string with only so much room for slack. It reminded him of how his friendship bloomed with Jeongin and Hyunjin, the feeling of a string pulling them closer together. And yet, _well._

With a sigh, and a drag of his hand through his hair, Seungmin shrugs. “They’re… how do I put this–”

“I feel drawn to them.” Hyunjin interrupts.

Seungmin blinks once, then twice, then he slowly looks over at his friend to find him already looking as well. He only manages a stutter of a response, his brain to mouth filter not working properly. Hyunjin lets out a nervous laugh. “That’s probably weird, right?”

“No-!” Seungmin exclaims, waving a hand a little now that he's snapped out of his shock. “Not at all, sorry. I just- me too.”

Hyunjin’s eyebrows raise just slightly. “Really?”

The music slowly coming to a close in the background is the only thing filling the silence as Seungmin stares at Hyunjin. For the first time ever, he actually considered telling his friends about his ability, but the words wouldn’t come. So, he shrugs and swallows the lump in his throat, averting his gaze to the initials carved into the desk he sat at.

“Yeah, really.”

  
  
  


As the days passed, Hyunjin and Jeongin began warming up to their new additions more and more, even countering Jisung’s stories and jokes with their own. Chan was as quiet as ever and Seungmin was even quieter. He started retreating in on himself, feeling out of place among the three social butterflies.

A couple weeks pass, and the five of them find themselves hanging out in Jeongin’s dorm, since it was one of the bigger ones. His parents had a considerably larger amount of money and therefore were able to rent their son one of the fancy dorms with separate bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a tiny living space. His roommate, Beomgyu, was out for the day, which gave the little group some time for themselves away from other students.

Jisung was going on about time and space of all things, how, if there _was_ the existence of other worlds – he broached the subject with a pointed stare in Seungmin’s direction that caused a weird heat to crawl up his neck – then it was possible that time moved differently there. 

Something about the whole conversation really set Seungmin on edge, and for a moment, it had him exploring the thoughts he’d been having recently about Chan and Jisung. Whether they were like him or not, and if they were, did they know? Had they been to the castle? Or was this all just purely coincidental?

“I don’t think time would move differently because the theory is that other worlds are just parallel universes to our own.” Hyunjin interjects Jisung’s rambling, twirling a pencil around his fingers. 

“There’s still other worlds different to ours.” Seungmin finds himself speaking before he could stop. The entire room went silent as all eyes were on him. He knows Chan is regarding him with that Look he could never quite read, but always made him feel like he was being picked apart. When it occurs to Seungmin that no one else was saying anything, he took that as a cue to continue to explain himself.

“Other worlds that aren't parallel universes, I mean. With completely different people and cultures and religions and ways of living. The flora and fauna are different—I mean, we've all heard the stories about the realm jumpers and the paintings. You’ve seen the news articles.” He doesn’t know where this is coming from, but something deep inside of him felt the need to defend himself _and_ the strange world with the castle. After all, it had been a big part of his life once.

(Though some small part of him would argue that it was _still_ a big part of his life.)

Hyunjin looks at Seungmin thoughtfully. “Yeah but… I always thought the paintings were just that. Paintings. Like um… Like Mary Poppins, when she and the kids went through the chimney sweep’s—”

“His name was _Bert_. Respect it.” Jeongin interrupts.

“Okay. When she and the kids and _Bert_ went through his chalk paintings. That’s all it was. The people weren’t real.” Hyunjin finishes with a glare in Jeongin’s direction.

“That’s just a movie, Hyunjin. And as sweet a movie as it is, it got the painting part completely wrong.” Seungmin counters. He was starting to get worked up. He could see Chan still observing him. Still picking him apart. It wasn’t helping. “History textbooks explain that the worlds jumpers travel to are actual, real worlds. Real places with entirely different cultures. They talk about how famous artists were jumpers themselves and their paintings were just new portals that led to new places.”

“Like Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night.” Jisung provides.

“Exactly!” Seungmin gestures towards the boy. “Just like Starry Night. And some of the paintings just appeared on their own. There’s a painting in the Louvre that has no name, no signature, no description. It’s almost like no one even notices it’s there but on message boards you can find people talking about it, with theories or personal experiences.”

_I fell through it._ That happened on a trip to Paris a couple of years prior with his dad.

“The way you’re talking about this seems like it’s oddly personal to you, Min.” Hyunjin mentions, though quietly. His eyes are narrowed, as if analyzing Seungmin.

_Don’t look at me like that._ Seungmin wants to say.

“I’m just… passionate about the subject.” Is what he says instead. He knows Hyunjin can see right through the lie. “Can we talk about something else now?”

The room is silent for a long moment. Jeongin looks between Hyunjin and Seungmin in confusion and Chan is as quiet as ever. Jisung, as always, was the one to break the silence, talking about some nature documentary he had watched recently.

After that, Seungmin had expected to retreat in on himself even more, but that wasn’t the case. Truthfully, the more time he spent around Chan and Jisung, a feeling somewhere in his chest started growing. Something drawing him towards the two, the same thing that had drawn him towards Hyunjin and Jeongin. A need to establish a deeper connection and the knowledge that he was safer as long as he was in their company. 

As more time passed, he began relaxing more in the presence of Chan and Jisung. At one point, he caught Chan’s exhaling in relief when he began to notice the shift in Seungmin’s attitude towards them.

After that, Seungmin engaged in conversation more, teasing Hyunjin with Jisung and Jeongin and laughing along with the three whenever one of them told a joke. It all felt normal, as if they’d all known each other their whole lives—well, Seungmin and Hyunjin had known each since they were six, and Jeongin came into the picture only a few years later. Chan and Jisung were new, but it felt like they grew up with them, too.

Chan began talking more too, a fond smile on his face as the other four chatted and laughed together. Seungmin had caught him staring in his direction a few times, an unreadable expression on his face. Seungmin tried not to dwell on it. 

Jisung took notice of Jeongin’s lingering stares at Hyunjin eventually, and stopped flirting as much as he had been. Hyunjin didn't seem to notice, too caught up in his own longing for Jeongin, and Seungmin just observed quietly, hoping Hyunjin and Jeongin would talk eventually.

On the Monday of the first week of February, a brisk afternoon, Jisung was the only one to show up to lunch. Seungmin couldn’t help the sudden worry of Chan’s absence, some irrational side of him screaming that something was wrong. He had to reason with himself that the man was probably off with more pressing matters, like studying for an upcoming test or family business.

He didn't engage much in the conversation that day, leaving it up to Hyunjin and Jisung, who were more than happy to chat the hour away. 

Jeongin was the first to address the absence. It took one glance for Seungmin to know that Jeongin was just as worried as himself. “Chan isn't here… is he okay?” 

Jisung, for the first time since Seungmin had known him, falls quiet for a few, long moments. Then, he drags his eyes from his food and locks his gaze with Seungmin’s. “He had something to do today.”

“Oh, okay. Will he be here tomorrow?” Jeongin deems Jisung’s answer good enough apparently, disregarding the intensity of Jisung’s gaze or the glaringly obvious deeper meaning behind his words.

Seungmin has a feeling everything is about to change, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.

“Maybe.” Is all Jisung says in response.

  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin’s boss made him work the closing shift, but he didn't mind. He was happy to have some time to himself, away from the school, away from his friends. It gave him time to think.

He had brought his old notebooks full of notes on realm jumpers. He hadn’t touched them in half a year, but after his conversation some weeks ago with Hyunjin and something about Jisung’s reaction three days ago reminded him that something about Chan and Jisung and Seo Changbin’s disappearance bothered him deeply. It was the first time in half a year that he _couldn't_ focus in class. Hyunjin and Jeongin had caught on immediately because their friend was more distant since that lunch, but they gave him his space. The last time they tried intervening, he almost bit their heads off.

Besides, Seungmin knew well enough how to act and pretend that he was okay. That he was _normal_. He’d been doing it since he was six.

He sighs and opens the notebook to the page about famous realm jumpers and stories about jumpers getting lost in the paintings. It was said that the frame could disappear randomly, as if the painting had a mind of its own and decided who and who wouldn't be going through. It was almost like the wardrobe in Narnia, except no one actually knew _why._ That was always something that had bothered Seungmin.

He knew these notes by heart. He had spent countless nights sitting awake with nothing but a dim lamp in the library to read by, but could never make total sense of all of them. 

“What am I doing?” He whispers to himself. He runs his thumb over the little doodle of the masked stranger he had left on the page one night in particular after a dream that felt too real to just be a dream.

“It looks like you’re reading.”

Seungmin jumps near half out of his skin at the new voice, his head jerking around fast enough to give him whiplash. He stares at Chan and Jisung in absolute shock, his eyes popping out of his skull. He hadn’t even heard them come in.

“You’re still open, I’m assuming?” Jisung smirks, grabbing a random record without even looking at it.

Seungmin gapes at him, eyes flitting back and forth between the two. Jisung just looks amused, but Chan at least has the decency to look a little sheepish.

“I mean- yeah,” Seungmin nods, inhaling deeply and pointing towards the bright, neon ‘OPEN’ sign on the window. “Until 9 pm.”

“Great. We want to show you something.” Chan gestures towards the doors, a smile on his face.

“Well, can it wait until I close?” Seungmin scowls.

“You don’t want to know about the paintings?” Jisung asks, snatching the notebook from Seungmin’s hands and flipping through the notes. “A lot of this isn't really accurate.”

“No, actually, I didn't know.” Seungmin retorts, then he freezes when Jisung’s question actually hits him. “Wait—how do you know?”

“You must have figured it out by now...” Chan’s voice trails off. His eyebrows furrow, as though confused thst Seungmin _doesn’t_ know whatever it was he was talking about.

Seungmin looks at him with a frown. Deep down, he does know. It was the reason he approached the two of them in the first place, it was the reason he didn't tell them to leave that first lunch, it was the reason he was so invested in Seo Changbin despite never having met him. He felt drawn to the three of them, in the same way he was drawn to Hyunjin and Jeongin.

The only difference is, Chan and Jisung know, whereas Hyunjin and Jeongin do not.

Still, he shakes his head in response to Chan. He still harbors that deeply rooted fear that something really terrible might happen if he admitted it out loud. Again, he remembers the masked stranger’s words. They ring loud and clear in his head, warning him against this. 

_“Stay away from the paintings until it’s time for you to come back. The safer you are, the better for all of us.”_

Sure, he never listened before, but that was when it was just fun and games and his own little secret. Now that someone else knows, and someone else knows that _he_ knows, it suddenly becomes a lot more real and a lot more terrifying.

“Seungmin.” Jisung snaps him out of his thoughts. He turns his eyes to the boy, finding a desperation burning in them unlike anything he’d seen before. “Please.”

He couldn’t say no.

And that's how Seungmin ends up halfway across town at ten pm in an abandoned warehouse. The air was dusty and Seungmin had to hold himself back from sneezing multiple times. Chan and Jisung were silent the entire trip there, and it isn’t until the three of them enter a room with multiple paintings that the silence is finally broken.

“Where did you get these?” Seungmin asks quietly. He recognizes each and every painting in the room—more specifically, the scenes they depicted. All of them came from the world with the castle. The world he dreamed about almost every night.

“I thought you might recognize them.” Chan speaks as Seungmin approaches one similar to the first painting he ever fell through. He kneels in front of it, stretching his hand out towards the scene. As expected, his fingers phase through the canvas, causing a ripple effect across the surface. 

“Why are we here?” Seungmin asks softly. He stands up and wanders around the room, observing each and every painting. He comes to a stop in front of one depicting the forest path where he and the masked stranger first met. He stares at the path, remembering the deafening rumble of a dozen hooves against hard earth, threatening to trample him into the earth, the hand pressed hard against his mouth, and the icy blue eyes that had followed him for the past thirteen years.

“Did something happen there?” Chan answers his question with another question, coming to a stop at his side and staring at the painting as well.

Seungmin doesn’t answer at first. The question strikes a nerve in his chest, and he suddenly feels ridiculous. By being so desperate for answers on who he was, why he could do this, why he kept having damned dreams about the blue-eyed man and a fuzzy silhouette and _dying_ , he let two men who he barely knew drag him to some abandoned warehouse, into a room filled with paintings of the exact place he had been trying to avoid since junior year of highschool. 

With a bitter laugh, he stumbles backwards, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes hard enough to cause his head to swim. “This sounds crazy- I feel crazy.” He whispers to no one in particular. “Thirteen years, I kept this to myself, and I did a damn good job. It doesn't feel right talking about it now. It makes it feel too real.”

“Seungmin, It _is_ real.” Chan stresses, taking a step towards him only to stop when Seungmin holds a hand up. “there’s a reason we’re doing this.” The man pleads. “We’ve always been an endangered kind, you know that. But it's not just here. In other worlds too. We don’t even know _why_ we can do this.”

“I would’ve expected you two to be all knowing about this topic.” Seungmin scoffs.

“Surprise, surprise. We’re not.” Jisung shoots back. “We just know enough.”

“What about your friend? Isn’t there a superstition that jumpers can die if they’re stuck for too long?” Seungmin waves his hand towards the two vaguely, his eyes narrowed.

“It’s false.” Jisung rolls his eyes.

“And even if it wasn’t,” Chan shares a look with Jisung. “Changbin is like you..”

“You’re like me.”

“No, I mean, Changbin is like in you in the sense that you two are special.” Chan chuckles.

_Special?_

“And… that means…?” Seungmin asks, raising an eyebrow.

“See, there's a… promise, of sorts, about a “chosen one” and their fated “other half”,” Jisung does air quotes to emphasize that. “Kind of like yin and yang, light and dark. This chosen one is supposed to stop “the end of everything” or whatever, and the other person is either supposed to help, or... well.” He trails off, glancing at Chan nervously before looking back at Seungmin. “It’s not _specific_ per say.” He explains, and then sheepishly, he adds, “It sounds cliché and ridiculous and crazy, I know, but it's real.” 

Seungmin stares at them incredulously. “Wait, and you think it's _me_?”

“The “chosen one” is supposed to have a stronger aura than others. One that draws us in and draws the chosen one to the worlds in the paintings more than normal jumpers.” Chan answers this time. “Your friends are jumpers too, though I don’t think they know it. It’s harder to discover your abilities these days, but your friends’ energies aren't anywhere near as intense as yours, Seungmin.”

Seungmin feels like he was having some sort of fever dream. His head is spinning like crazy, everything he had absorbed bouncing around his skull like a peanut in a jar. He feels lightheaded. “Look, I-I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m just a _university student,_ not… some hero from a book.”

“You are, Seungmin. Everything hangs in the balance. You may not think it concerns you now, but when that world and our world starts mixing, and your friends and family start getting caught in the crossfire, you’re going to want to get involved, and fast.” Jisung's voice is scarily calm but Seungmin can tell he was losing his temper from the way his jaw tenses and his eyebrows draw together. He had never expected to see the brunette like this.

He just can’t bring himself to care, though, not really. “Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? I have an 8 am class tomorrow, I have loads of readings to do, and, in case you forgot, a _job_. I don’t have time for this childish stuff anymore.” 

“Then why did you spend so much time researching us? Why did you even come tonight?!” Jisung snaps, his fists clenched at his sides. Seungmin could’ve sworn he saw Jisung’s eyes flash _purple,_ but writes it off as a trick of the light.

“Because, who wouldn’t?! I fell through a painting when I was six years old and almost-” He pauses. He doesn’t want to say it out loud. “For thirteen years, I have been carrying around this secret. I thought I was crazy for nine of them. I went through ten different therapists and all of them said the same thing. That there wasn’t actually anything wrong with me. I thought that maybe by researching, I could understand myself a little more, but I ended up with more questions than answers, so I gave up.” 

He had never admitted that outloud. His shoulders sag, the sudden weight of everything dragging him down. Chan stares at him in shock, and maybe a little concern, and he looks like he wanted to say something or reach out and comfort him, but he just stays where he is when Seungmin starts speaking again. 

“It’s just hard to forget when I keep dreaming about that stupid castle and this fuzzy silhouette and the masked stranger—”

“Masked stranger?” Chan interrupts, holding a hand up.

“I met them when I first ended up there,” Seungmin gestures vaguely around at the paintings. “They protected me from the horses and then told me to stay away from the paintings. They… had strikingly ice-blue eyes. I dream about them every night.”

Chan and Jisung share a glance, a silent conversation passing between them. Then, Chan releases a defeated sigh. “You’re right, Seungmin. I’m sorry, I shouldn't have asked this of you.”

Seungmin blinks up at him in surprise, but his body relaxes from relief. “Yeah, you’re right. You shouldn't have.” He agrees. “Make sure Hyunjin and Jeongin never get dragged into this, okay? They deal with enough being my friend, I don’t want to put them in any unnecessary danger.”

Chan and Jisung share a look again, and then nod. Seungmin sighs, his gaze trailing over the paintings again. He stops at one, showing the castle itself, and for a moment, he felt a strangely powerful draw to it. Quickly, before it takes over him, he shakes himself out of it and offers Chan and Jisung a quiet, _“Goodnight, and I’m sorry.”_ before leaving the room and the warehouse.

By the time he makes it back to his dorm room and crashes on his bed, it’s almost 12 am, but Seungmin is too tired to care. Sleep pulls him under before he knows it.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Dark. 

And then not so dark.

He blinks his eyes open to white, his vision taking a few seconds to adjust to the sudden light. He feels something moving under him and sees a tree canopy moving past his head slowly. Voices sound somewhere nearby, though muffled. 

He sits up with a groan, holding his head and blinking at his surroundings. The thing under him ends up being a cart attached to a cream-colored horse and a black-haired man sat at the front of the cart to steer said horse, talking quietly to someone off to the side. 

He tries to recall how he ended up here, with a throbbing headache, in some stranger’s cart, in a forest, but he can't remember anything after his last encounter with Chan and Jisung. He could've sworn he had gone to bed, so how did he end up here? 

When he looks down at himself, he notices his shirt and jeans are replaced by a loose-fitting top with sleeves that billowed out and fit snuggly at his wrists, and a pair of well-worn trousers and boots. He feels like he just walked out of a fantasy movie, like some elven prince. 

Something bumps against his leg and he looks down to see an arrow. His eyes slowly trail up to land on a bow, and then a couple swords, and he frowns deeply. That doesn't seem right. Why is he surrounded by weapons? Is the man he’s with dangerous?

He opens his mouth to speak, to ask where he is and how he got here, but no sound comes out. He tries harder, his hand flying up to his throat and his eyes widening. Panic starts to rise in his chest. 

_Help_.

The cart comes to a stop suddenly, and for some reason, Seungmin can't move. The panic grows as he’s forced to watch the driver, who sits eerily still for a few seconds. 

Everything around them fades until it’s just the two of them standing in a void. The raven-haired man keeps his back to Seungmin, his attention focused on something unseen. 

Seungmin tries to take a step forward, to reach out to get the man’s attention, say something, but all he gets in return is a choking feeling in his throat and a burning sensation spreading through his bones and veins, like they were full of fire and acid, eating away at him. He tries to scream out in pain, but that doesn't work either.

The man turns his head finally, just enough for Seungmin to see the faint outline of his nose and cheekbone illuminated by the faint light in the distance, and then it all goes dark again and Seungmin is plummeting through blackness, a silent scream escaping his lips. 

_“It’s time, Kim Seungmin.”_

  
  
  


Seungmin shoots up from his pillow with a gasp, feeling as though he just narrowly missed drowning. His chest heaves with heavy breaths, his body desperately trying to regulate his heartbeat. He can still feel the burning in his veins, itching just below the surface. 

It takes him another moment to realize he’s drenched in a cold sweat, his shirt clinging to his skin and his hair stuck to his forehead. He wrinkles his nose in disgust and throws his sheets off, grabbing a spare change of clothes and disappearing into the bathroom.

He pulls his shirt off and stares at himself in the mirror, the events of his dream - slash - nightmare slowly coming back to him. The longer he stares at his reflection, the more the image mirroring him seems to warp until his eyes look as if they’re white and he can see a soft, red glow emanating from his skin, like sunlight filtering through fingertips. Quickly, he squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head before hesitantly looking at his reflection again. 

He looks normal.

Frowning, he reaches up and touches his red hair (he had dyed it recently, but the color was already fading), wondering for a moment who the man driving the cart was. He wonders who the other person was, too, but he didn't even get a chance to look at them. Something about the voice and presence of the man driving the cart was familiar but he couldn't place his finger on it.

“Pull yourself together, Seungmin.” He whispers to himself and turns away from his reflection, undressing the rest of the way and climbing into the shower to wash away the sweat and thoughts regarding the dream.

_Just a dream._

When he comes out of the bathroom minutes later, steam rolling out around him, a concerned voice startles him half out of his skin. “Seungmin! I was beginning to think you'd never wake up.”

He looks over at the desk to see Hyunjin sitting there, worry etched into his features. Seungmin glares at him for a few seconds before rolling his eyes. “Frowning gives you wrinkles, Hyunjin.”

There’s a pause, and then a gasp, and then a pillow flies across the room at Seungmin’s face that he narrowly dodges. He shoots Hyunjin an annoyed glare that time and just gets a childish tongue stuck out at him in return. He scoffs and flops onto his bed with his eyes closed.

He hears some shuffling and then the bed dips next to him as Hyunjin presses his warm body against Seungmin’s side. He lets out what he hopes sounds like an annoyed sigh. “Shouldn't you be bothering Jeongin?”

“I wanna bother you, though.” Hyunjin answers without missing a beat. Seungmin could hear the smile in his voice. He really is grateful for his friend.

“How long did I sleep?” He asks softly.

“All day. It’s almost nine.” Hyunjin replies, and only then does Seungmin notice how sleepy he sounds. He just hums in response, unable to find it in himself to worry about missing his classes for once. There were more pressing matters on his mind.

“Hey, Hyunjin?” 

“What’s up, Minnie?” Hyunjin hums.

“What exactly is your view on realm jumpers?” Seungmin asks, the anxiety and curiosity clawing at his chest. They had never really talked about any of it before, since, as far as Seungmin knew, Hyunjin had no interest in the topic and Seungmin did his best to avoid outing himself accidentally, but ever since that conversation, (pseudo-argument, Seungmin likes to call it) he can’t help wondering what Hyunjin actually thought of them, and more importantly, himself.

There are a few moments of silence as Hyunjin mulls the question over, and then he shrugs. “I did some research after our conversation earlier and I think they're cool, y’know? They get to travel to other worlds and see things we could never dream of. Pretty lucky.”

Seungmin almost snorts at that. ‘Lucky’ isn’t the word he would use to describe this. “Say you could travel like that, how would you feel about it?” He asks.

“I’d just like to meet different races and creatures, I guess. See new sights, taste new foods. Experience different lives.” Hyunjin replies wistfully. 

Seungmin looks at his friend, recognizing that gleam in his eyes when he was _excited._ Despite everything, Seungmin smiles and ruffles his friend’s black hair. “You’re the reason there’s still good in this world, Hyunie.”

His best friend beams at him and plants a kiss on his cheek before snuggling into Seungmin’s chest. Seungmin wraps his arms around Hyunjin, his eyes trained on his ceiling. Sleep eludes him even though he still felt exhausted. After a few minutes of silence, he hears Hyunjin’s soft snores and sighs to himself. At least one of them would be sleeping tonight.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin spends the next few days unfocused and distracted, missing half of his lessons and spending any free time he had in the library. Hyunjin and Jeongin begin catching on like they always do, expressing their worry for their best friend and their curiosity about Chan and Jisung’s absence at lunch.

(Funnily enough, Jeongin didn’t seem to mind Jisung’s absence that much.)

By the end of the week, Seungmin decided he needed more answers than a few history textbooks could provide and took the first bus across town back to the warehouse. He hoped, maybe, that he could go back to the path where he had the dream and figure out what it meant.

He wanders through the various aisles of dusty tools and other equipment long untouched, trailing his fingers along the edges of the shelves, dust and dirt collecting on his skin. He stops in the middle of an aisle somewhere near the entrance to the warehouse, only then noticing how weirdly still the air is. Suddenly, all of his senses are on high alert and he slowly turns, squinting through the darkness as if something might leap out at him. 

He hears a clatter off to the side, startling him nearly out of his skin. He looks at the shelf next to him, grabbing the first thing that vaguely resembled a weapon – a heavy, rusty hammer – and slowly approaches where the sound originated from. Voices whisper off to the side, hushed and annoyed. Seungmin whips around, holding the hammer up, ready to strike at whoever, or whatever, was lurking.

“ _Seungmin!”_

He screams and swings the hammer, narrowly missing the skull of a person. He stares, wide-eyed, at his friends, his chest heaving as he dropped the hammer, the sound emitting a loud bang that rang out around the warehouse. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” Seungmin hisses. He still feels paranoid, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He slowly turns around, checking the surrounding area before focusing his attention on his friends again.

“We’re worried about you! You’re acting weird again.” Hyunjin replies, his frown deepening.

“I can't believe you swung a hammer at me.” Jeongin whines. “What are _you_ doing here, anyways?”

Seungmin opens his mouth, trying to come up with some sort of lie that would make sense as to why he was hanging around some abandoned warehouse, but he doesn't have the chance before a low growling interrupts them. He looks in the direction of the sound, his eyebrows furrowing. “Did you two bring a dog?”

Hyunjin just shakes his head and Jeongin stares in the direction of the sound with wide eyes. Seungmin squints, taking a step closer despite Hyunjin’s hushed warning.

And then he sees it.

A mass of black smoke rolls around on the floor on the other side of the shelving and Seungmin watches in horror as it slowly takes the shape of a giant black dog, eyes glowing red on what he assumes is the head. Three more come out of the darkness behind it, the four creatures growling threateningly at the boys.

“Run.” Seungmin whispers.

“What?!” Hyunjin and Jeongin exclaim in unison.

“Run!” Seungmin yells that time, grabbing his friends’ arms and dragging them out of the way just as the dogs leap at the shelving, effectively knocking it down and causing a deafening crash. Seungmin realizes they were solid under the smoke, not that it gave him much peace of mind.

A scream from Jeongin startles Seungmin out of his thoughts and he springs into action, shoving them in the direction of what he hopes is the room with the paintings. Hyunjin gets the memo, grabbing Jeongin’s arm and dragging him along in the direction Seungmin directed, the latter hot on their heels. 

Seungmin glances back and for a moment he can’t see anything until movement above his head catches his eye. He looks up, watching the dogs run along the top of the shelving. With a curse under his breath, his brain goes into overdrive as he tries to work past the fear choking him. He scans the area as best he could, trying to spot the painting room. Finally, he catches a glimpse of an open door, soft light spilling through.

“That way!” He yells at his friends, pointing in the direction of the door. Hyunjin follows his finger and spots the door, steering a whimpering Jeongin towards it. Seungmin slides to a stop and looks up at the dogs, watching them stop above him. They glare down, their growls silenced as they pace back and forth. Just as he guessed, they were after him. Whether it was to kill him or chase him towards the paintings, he doesn’t know.

To test his theory, he takes a few steps in the opposite direction of the paintings. Immediately, one of the smoke masses rolls down and retakes its shape in front of him, a growl echoing low in it’s throat. Seungmin locks eyes with it’s red ones, a chill crawling down his spine, and slowly takes a few steps back towards the room. The growling ceases then.

He makes a mental note to punch Chan in the face next time he sees him.

“Seungmin!” Jeongin screeches off to the side and he turns on his heel to catch up with his friends, motioning for them to keep moving.

“When I say jump, you jump, okay?” He explains as the three of them run towards the door. 

“What do you mean?!” Hyunjin gasps, casting an incredulous look in Seungmin’s direction.

“I’ll explain everything, but for now, you just have to trust me and jump when I tell you to!” He yells back almost desperately. If Chan was right, and his friends really were jumpers, they should just pass right through.

Hyunjin and Jeongin share a glance and then they nod in agreement. Seungmin realizes right then just how much they trust him, considering he was asking them to jump into a _painting_ without any proof that hopefully, physically, they were able to do so. He _really_ hopes Chan is right.

“Seungmin, we’re not stopping.” Hyunjin whimpers, glancing back at his friend. Seungmin doesn’t respond, his eyes trained on a painting of a peaceful farm overlooking a lake. 

“Seungmin-!”

“ _Jump!”_

There’s a moment of silence as the three of them are submerged in the painting and then they burst through the other side with gasps, hitting the ground hard and rolling a few feet. Seungmin just lays still when he comes to a stop, staring up at the blue sky overhead. 

“Where the hell are we?” Hyunjin asks after a few seconds of silence, slowly standing up and brushing himself off. Seungmin hears him hiss and he guesses it was in pain when he mutters something about bruising.

“It’s the farmhouse in the painting.” Jeongin responds.

Seungmin sits up, Scanning the area around them. A lake sits at the bottom of the hill, a forest off to one side and a wide, open field on the other. Crops cover one half of the field, fenced off from the cattle on the other half. He’s pretty sure he hasn’t been here before.

“Seungmin?” Hyunjin addresses him then. He looks over at his friend and remembers then that neither of them know the truth about him. “We just… went through a painting. The frame is still there. Seungmin, what the _fuck?”_

Seungmin doesn’t answer. He just stands up, brushing himself off and he stares at his friends with a frown. There’s no point in excuses anymore. Hyunjin stares back, eyes narrowed, gears turning in his head. It changes after a beat, into something akin to hurt, and maybe a hint of anger. “This is what that conversation was about.”

Seungmin nods.

“ _You’re_ a jumper.” Hyunjin points an accusing finger at him. Seungmin winces. He doesn’t respond though, not verbally, and only provides a nod again. Jeongin gasps.

“Why didn't you tell us—how long have you known?” Hyunjin whispers. Jeongin looks between them with wide eyes.

“Since that trip to the museum when we were six.” Seungmin responds in a small voice.

There’s a beat of silence and then Hyunjin marches off towards the lake. Jeongin stays behind, staring down at his hands. “Hyunjin and I were able to go through the painting as well… that means…”

“Yeah,” Seungmin breathes, casting his eyes downwards.

“So what now?” Jeongin asks.

That was a good question. The smart thing to do is get home, but it probably isn’t safe to go through the painting again and Seungmin still wants to do what he came here for. He can find the masked stranger and ask them to help his friends get home but they would probably put up a fight. He sighs and drags his hands through his hair. “I don’t know.”

  
  
  


Seungmin sat and explained everything he knew to Jeongin. From the day in the museum thirteen years ago to now. His friend is silent for a few minutes, staring at the grass under them as he processes the information.

“And you have to… what, exactly?” He asks, finally.

“I don’t know. Save the world, I guess? All of them, actually. Chan and Jisung weren't exactly… specific.” Seungmin replies. He leans back on his hands and lets his head hang back, staring up into the clouds above. “Actually, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to save everyone from.” He sighs, letting his eyes flutter shut as Jeongin just hums in response.

“He’s been down there awhile.” Jeongin murmurs after a while. Seungmin looks at him and then down at the lake, the silhouette of Hyunjin’s back outlined by the setting sun. “You should probably talk to him.”

Seungmin stares at his best friend, his Hyunjin, the boy who has been with him through everything. The boy who he had kept his biggest secret from. He can only guess how Hyunjin’s feeling about that. Still, he nods in response to Jeongin and pushes himself up, brushing his pants off. “Watch the painting frame.” He instructs before walking down the hill. He comes to a stop and looks out across the lake, exhaling and sticking his hands in his pockets.

“What were those things?” Hyunjin asks quietly.

“I don’t know.” Seungmin shakes his head. “I saw them once, when I was six. They were riding horses as armored men, then.”

Hyunjin glances up at his friend and tugs on his arm. “Sit down, would you?”

Seungmin looks down at him, hesitating only a second before sitting in the grass next to Hyunjin. The raven-haired boy rests his head on his shoulder, gently grasping his hand and holding it close to his chest. “You know you can trust me with anything, right?” 

“I know, Jinnie. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything.” Seungmin nods. “I just… felt like something bad might happen or it would make it too real if you and Jeongin knew. I wanted to keep my worlds separate.” 

Hyunjin snorts at “worlds” and Seungmin can’t help a soft chuckle at the irony of it as well. “They were after you, Min.”

Seungmin’s face falls. “I know.”

“Why?” 

“I don’t know. I just know they were chasing us towards the paintings.” He whispers, holding tighter to Hyunjin’s hand. “Chan and Jisung claim I’m some “chosen one”, whatever that means.”

“Were you gonna come back here without us?” Hyunjin’s voice sounds small, weak. His grip on Seungmin’s hand tightens then, and Seungmin feels guilty for even considering leaving him behind like that. Before Seungmin even gets the chance to respond though, Hyunjin sits up straight with a start, looking at Seungmin with his eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, Chan and Jisung know about this?”

“They're both jumpers, too. And their friend Changbin. I’m guessing Changbin is here somewhere.” Seungmin barely spares Hyunjin a glance, not wanting to face the guilt that would come with seeing the hurt on Hyunjin’s face. “And I just needed answers of some sort. I had a dream that felt too… real. I needed to figure out what it meant.” 

Hyunjin is quiet for a moment, turning his gaze back to the lake. He starts giggling after a moment, lifting up Seungmin’s hand to press his forehead to it. “This is so fucking weird. I feel like we’re in a movie.”

“Narnia.” Seungmin replies with a chortle.

“Alice in Wonderland.” Jeongin’s voice causes both of them to whip around. The younger man smiles, hurrying the rest of the way down the hill to plop next to Seungmin. “The frame disappeared. Is that bad?”

“No, thankfully, but we should still find a way home soon.” Seungmin reassures.

Hyunjin and Jeongin nod at that, and the three of them fall quiet for a few minutes, watching as the sun sets over the tree-line and bathes them in a deep red glow. Seungmin stares at the water hitting the bank, watching the tiny fish dart back and forth. He feels horrible, having dragged his friends into this when he specifically asked Chan to make sure that didn’t happen. He looks between his friends, grabbing Jeongin’s hand and exhaling deeply. 

“I’m sorry you two got caught up in this.” He whispers.

Jeongin looks at him with a frown. “Seungmin, I can assure you, we would rather be here with you than back home wondering what happened to you.”

Hyunjin nods in agreement. “Besides, we’re a package deal. We’re in this together.”

“I’m gonna do my best to keep you both safe. Whatever it takes.” Seungmin promises, squeezing their hands tightly. Hyunjin just smiles and hugs him, his head tucked away in Seungmin’s neck. 

“Just don’t forget to let us protect you too.” Jeongin says, reaching up to run his fingers through Seungmin’s hair.

Only when the stars were out and the moon hung in the sky did they finally get up and sneak into the barn on the top of the hill, nestling themselves into the hay and making a plan to find the nearest painting or at least, someone who could help them figure things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit :: look ! i made art for this au ! [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


	2. A Dance With Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New characters, Seungmin learns some things about himself and the dangers ahead, and they get to dance a little.

_Kids aren't supposed to be heroes._

“ _Seungmin_.”

“Seungmin _, wake up.”_

_“_ Kim Seungmin _,_ I swear to _God,_ if you don’t wake up, I will lick your ear.” 

“I don’t think he’s into that, Hyunjin.”

“Shut up, Jeongin.”

“You shut up, Hyunjin.” Seungmin grumbles. He rubs one hand over his face and blinks open his eyes to see his two best friends hovering over his head with matching looks of concern and confusion.

“Why do you guys look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” He asks and pushes himself up with a groan. His arms and legs ache and he has a migraine that rivals literally any other headache he’s ever had. When he turns to stretch his back out, he’s met with a pair of unfamiliar shoes and suddenly all of his senses are on high alert again.

Something surges through his chest and he feels it melt down his arms, like something in him had awoken. Everything around him looks and sounds clearer and he can _feel_ the adrenaline course through his veins. He shoots up from the grass, ready to defend his friends if he needs to—only to be met with too-familiar, ice blue eyes. He opens his mouth to scold the person who had followed him for thirteen years for sneaking up on them when another familiar voice off to the side catches his attention.

“Seungmin.” 

Chan steps up next to the masked stranger, a solemn look on his face. Vaguely, Seungmin hears his friends stand up and Hyunjin says something to someone else off to the side (Jisung, presumably, since Chan was here). 

Seungmin meets Chan’s eyes steadily, and for a few suffocating seconds, everyone is silent, breath baited. Seungmin is distantly aware of someone saying his name but he can’t hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears.

He doesn’t punch Chan, but he shoves him hard. Out of frustration, out of anger, out of fear. Too many emotions are piling up in his chest. Tears prick at his eyes as Chan just stumbles backwards, but he doesn't look mad when Seungmin meets his eyes. He looks sympathetic, like he wants to apologize, but he stays silent. Seungmin doesn’t say anything either. 

Seungmin inhales, counts to ten, and turns his attention to the masked stranger. He opens his mouth to confront them, but a gentle hand gripping his arm stops him. He spares a glance in Jeongin's direction to see a somewhat scared look in his eyes and he immediately softens, resting a hand over his friend’s to reassure him. The feeling in his arms resides to a dull throb then and it’s pushed to the back of his mind.

“What’s going on?” Seungmin finally asks, calmer than he had intended at first.

“Come with us.” Is all the blue-eyed stranger provides in response to Seungmin’s question. They turn on their heels and leave the barn, Chan and Jisung in tow. 

“Seungmin.” Hyunjin hisses as soon as the other three are out of earshot. Seungmin doesn’t even spare his friend a glance as he marches after the man who dragged him into this mess in the first place. He needs answers.

“Hey, what are those shadow things?” He demands as soon as he catches up to Chan and the others. “They attacked us and forced us through the painting.”

The masked stranger stops in his tracks. Chan and Jisung stop as well, both turning to look curiously at the stranger as they slip their mask off. “You remember what happened thirteen years ago, correct?”

It suddenly dawns on Seungmin that he has never actually seen the rest of their face. “Of course I do. Kind of hard to forget something like that.”

“The shadows you saw back then are the king’s guard, of sorts.” They turn to face Seungmin. Hyunjin gasps and Jeongin whispers an _“oh my god”_ under his breath at the sight of the man’s lower face, twisted and mangled with long-healed scars that stretch down his neck and past the neckline of his shirt. 

Seungmin wonders just how much of his body they covered. Hell, he wonders where they came from, but that wasn’t the most important thing on his mind, not now. He holds the icy-blue gaze steadily. “What’s your name?” 

“Lee Minho.” The man provides, his lips turning up into a half-smile. It looks haunting with the scars.

“Okay, Lee Minho, why did they come after me?” Seungmin presses. His nails dig into his palms.

“Let’s discuss this over some food, okay?” Minho suggests. His avoidance of Seungmin’s questions are becoming frustrating. “Please?”

Seungmin opens his mouth to protest but a hand on his wrist stops him. He turns to see Jeongin’s sympathetic eyes meet his own. “We’re all hungry, Minnie. Come on.” 

Seungmin’s stomach seems to agree, so he just reluctantly gives in and lets Jeongin tangle their fingers together, following a step behind as his friends lead him after the others. 

The rest of the walk is silent, Seungmin sandwiched between Jeongin and Hyunjin and his eyes trained on the dirt path beneath him. Minho, Chan, and Jisung talk in hushed whispers ahead of them and the more Seungmin strains to hear them, the more frustrated he becomes. 

Just as he opens his mouth to try getting answers again, the smell of freshly baked bread and cooked food hits his nose and any ounce of anger leaves his body when his stomach rumbles a little too loud. He looks up from the path to see a quaint little inn made of weather-worn stone and wood. Smoke rises from a brick chimney at the top of the second floor, the smell mixing with the smells of fresh food and livestock. 

Seungmin watches a woman dressed in a simple but ragged dress and corset shove a stumbling man out the door, very clearly angry as she slams the door behind her. Hyunjin snickers to himself and Jeongin reaches around to flick the taller boy on the ear, whispering something along the lines of, “ _be nice”._

“Come. I’ve got some clothes the three of you can wear.” Minho beckons as he makes his way towards a set of stables near the backside of the inn. “Can’t have you looking like you don’t belong.” He says with a glance over his shoulder. Hyunjin pulls Seungmin and Jeongin after him.

Seungmin glances towards Chan and Jisung in confusion, and only then does he notice their matching white blouses and high waisted trousers. They look like they just walked out of an 18th century Victorian novel, and no longer the 21st century college students they actually are. Or, are pretending to be. Seungmin isn’t exactly sure anymore.

Minho sets a pile of neatly folded clothes in Seungmin’s hands when they reach the stables and guides him into an empty stall. He steps out to allow Seungmin some privacy and Seungmin takes the moment alone to breathe in deeply, the heavy smell of hay and horse filling his senses. He exhales deeply and tugs his shirt off, only then feeling just how sore his muscles are. Upon looking at his arms to pinpoint the exact source of his pain, he notices a giant, purpling bruise forming on his right side where he must have hit when they came through the painting. 

“Fuck.” He whispers under his breath, gingerly poking the purpling skin. The second he does, though, the color begins to shrink, the pain slowly dissipating with it. 

“What the…-?” His eyes widen, shocked. Quickly, he pulls the new shirt over his head and finishes changing the rest of his clothes (a loose, white blouse, the sleeves billowing out around his arms and the front hanging open, a simple brown vest that he has some trouble fastening so he just left it open, and matching trousers and boots; the outfit reminds him of his dream) so he can tell the others about the healed bruises. 

He turns to leave the stall, only stopping in his tracks when the ground beneath his feet begins to rumble. He looks up at the stall across from him and meets Hyunjin’s eyes. Hyunjin points down and Seungmin understands immediately, watching his friend’s head disappear as he ducks down; Seungmin quickly follows his lead.

The rumbling stops abruptly, and Seungmin can hear horses braying and whinnying outside. He holds his breath, listening to footsteps draw nearer to the stables. He can feel panic swelling in his chest as he hears armor clanking as someone walks past his hiding spot, he can feel his body heating up more than it should be. The footsteps stop, and then the sounds of shuffling follow.

One of the stable doors rattles and Seungmin stifles a gasp as the rest of the stables wobble with it. It stops a second later and silence follows, leaving Seungmin trembling in fear.

Finally, he listens to the footsteps depart and the horses take off again, the rumbling of their heavy hooves against the dirt path. He squeezes his eyes shut and slaps his hands over his ears, exhaling, trying to steady his heart.

After what feels like an eternity, a pair of hands finally settle on Seungmin’s wrists, gently removing them from his head. “Minnie, look at me.” Hyunjin’s soft voice reaches his ears. He slowly opens his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision so he can properly focus on his friend. “It’s over now. They’re gone.”

Seungmin opens his mouth to respond when another voice interrupts from his left. “Whoa, Seungmin, Look down.”

Seungmin blinks a couple times and glances at Jeongin in confusion, his brain still trying to process the words when he hears Hyunjin’s gasp. He slowly looks down, blinking a few times again to adjust to the dim lighting. When his eyes focus, he sees scorch marks in a perfect circle around him, as if someone had taken a lighter to the dirt and lit a ring of fire around him. “What the hell?”

“Seungmin…” Hyunjin’s voice sounds distant.

“I-I need to breathe-” Seungmin whimpers, shooting up from the ground. He pushes past Jeongin, and only makes it a couple of steps before his legs give out and he collapses into the dirt. Immediately, his friends are next to him. 

Hyunjin tries to grab his arm to help him up, only to jerk back with a hiss. Seungmin looks at him, panicked, as Hyunjin holds his hand with a frown. “I think you just burned me.”

“Ho-How-” Seungmin whimpers. He looks at the dirt where his hands rest, and slowly lifts them to reveal two scorch marks in the shape of his hands. “Fuck-” 

“Seungmin-” Jeongin gasps. 

He needs to calm down. Slowly, he inhales and pushes himself up, shaking his burning hands a couple of times. He swears he sees a couple of sparks. He counts to ten, exhaling, before staring at his hands. He can still feel the heat radiating off of them, and if he looks hard enough, it’s almost as if there’s a faint, red glow under his skin. 

With a bitter laugh, he presses the heels of his palms against his eyes. Just a few days ago, he was a university student trying to get his degree. He had good grades and a somewhat perfect future ready for him, even with the secret of the paintings. He was happy with his two best friends, the three of them determined to succeed together. Now, here he is, standing in a horse stable, his skin hot enough to burn someone. He had dragged his best friends into this mess, the king’s guard was trying to kill him, and a man who was connected to him because of “destiny” was missing as far as he knew, and he was pretty sure he had to find him.

He wants to go home. He misses his dad.

“What is happening to me?” He mutters.

“Come into the inn and I’ll explain everything, Seungmin.” Minho is right in front of him now. Seungmin jumps, removing his hands from his eyes. Minho gives him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Is this a dream?” Seungmin asks, meeting Minho’s blue eyes.

“No, you’re very much awake.” Minho confirms, though he looked guilty, and a little sympathetic.

“Isn’t that exactly what you’d say if I _was_ having a dream, though?” Seungmin mutters but still falls forward against the man’s chest when Minho opens his arms. He’s engulfed in a tight but comforting hug and finally his body relaxes. Minho isn’t retracting in pain, so Seungmin can only assume that his skin has cooled off now.

“Does this feel real?” Minho whispers into his ear.

Seungmin just nods. It feels safe. It feels like home. He clings to Minho’s shirt, just as he had when the man had held him all those years ago to avoid getting trampled. Only this time, he isn't in imminent danger.

Minho pulls away after a few minutes and grabs Seungmin’s hands (Minho’s fingers were shockingly cold), squeezing them gently. He pulls away and Seungmin allows his friends to flank him on either side again, his hands encased in theirs and his head resting on Hyunjin’s shoulder. The recent events of the past couple days are beginning to catch up with him, weighing his bones down and making his eyelids heavy.

He looks up when they reach the inn to see Jisung and Chan staring at him with matching, unreadable expressions. It makes him uneasy.

Only when they’re seated at a table near the back of the dining area, Seungmin still sandwiched between his friends and the other three men seated across from them, trays of steaming food set in front of them, does Minho finally speak. Seungmin only catches bits and pieces, something about the king and some unknown master plan, how Seungmin’s had these abilities in him all along and how it’s supposed to help him stop the king. Seungmin is pretty sure he said Changbin was a prince, whatever that meant. He’s focused more on trying to keep his eyes open.

The last things he hears are “war” and “old texts” before there’s a loud ringing in his ears. He winces and reaches up to cover his ears but it does nothing to quiet the sound. The last thing he sees is Hyunjin’s face in front of his own before he blacks out.

When everything goes dark, he hears a voice in his ear.

_“Tag. You’re it.”_

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The next time Seungmin wakes up, he’s on something moving, the sounds of hooves hitting dirt and rolling wheels reaching his ears. He blinks his eyes open to a tree canopy overhead, soft sunlight filtering through the leaves and dappling his skin. It feels like something from a dream, Seungmin felt floaty. A smile spreads across his face as he watches the tree canopy pass overhead, branches and leaves swaying and dancing in the soft, cool breeze that drags over his skin. He felt like he could just fly off on a cloud, leave everything behind.

And then he remembers where he is.

He tries to sit up, like in his dream a couple nights before. The second he moves though, a hand is pushing him down and throwing a sheet over him. He has a half mind to stay silent, the rational part of his brain taking over long enough to help him think properly. 

The cart comes to a stop and Seungmin hears the clanking of armor and the sound of heavy hooves pounding the dirt. Instead of a dozen horses like the last time he was on this road, it’s just one, but it isn’t any less terrifying. He hears the familiar voices of his friends and Minho as they echo a formal greeting to the newcomer, but there was one vaguely new voice. They sound familiar, but Seungmin can’t place a name.

It’s silent again for a suffocating few minutes when the cart begins moving again until the sheet is thrown off of him and Chan’s face comes into view. “It’s safe now.”

Seungmin sits up and scans their surroundings. Everything is almost identical to his dream, except the time of day is different and there’s no one else talking. He looks over the items lying around him; a couple of bows, a quiver of arrows, and the thing that catches his eye the most, a sword sheathed in gold and leather, glinting in the dappled sunlight. There’s a red gem studded in the top of the hilt, and it reminds Seungmin of a dragon’s eye, staring straight into his soul. 

When He looks at the man driving the cart, and it’s like a missing puzzle piece finally clicks into place. It’s the fuzzy silhouette from his dreams. 

“Stop the cart.”

The man pulls back on the reins and everyone falls silent as Seungmin climbs out of the cart. He walks around to stand next to the horse, finally able to put a face to the voice who he assumes had taunted him in his dreams.

“Was it you who spoke to me when I blacked out?” Seungmin demands.

The man looks at something past Seungmin’s head, and then he meets Seungmin’s eyes calmly, his expression unreadable. “No. I heard it, though.”

Seungmin opens his mouth to yell, having expected an entirely different response. When his brain processes the actual answer, his jaw clamps shut and he blinks up at the man in confusion.

Slowly, the rest of the pieces start falling into place. If the man could hear things like that, things in Seungmin’s head, that meant they had to be connected somehow. His clothes looked well tailored, exactly something he would expect a prince to wear. The man also knew Chan, Jisung and Minho, and—

_Oh._

_Seo Changbin._

And then he realizes that it was _Changbin_ he saw that night at the bar, then he feels the string, connecting him to Changbin. And he feels it pulled tight, almost like it's cutting off his circulation, like it’s begging to be closer.

“You’re supposed to be missing.” He blurts, pointing an accusing finger at Changbin’s face.

Changbin snorts and holds the reins out to Minho, who climbs up and takes Changbin’s place as Changbin hops off the cart. “No, I’m just undercover.”

“Undercover?” Seungmin asks dumbly.

“Were you not paying attention earlier, Seungmin?” Minho questions, his eyebrows furrowed.

Seungmin looks towards the blue-eyed man and then at Changbin. He’s having a hard time wrapping his head around all of this. “I’m gonna need someone to explain.”

“At first, I did only get trapped here.” Changbin begins as he walks around the cart, messing with a box sitting against the side of it – presumably making sure it was still secure. 

“Chan and Jisung made it through the painting before I did and the damn thing disappeared on me, so I left to find Minho. Originally, the three of us were supposed to find you together, and we thought we had but that didn't work out how we wanted it too. So,” he turns to gesture at Minho. “Minho and I devised a Plan B and I decided to go undercover in the castle as the king’s “long lost son”. Thankfully, Minho knew enough to provide me with important information. Since then, we’ve just been waiting for you to arrive.”

“So… you just left the castle now that I’m here?” Seungmin asks.

“No, I have to go back.” Changbin shakes his head, his calm expression hardening into something else. Something darker.

“How do you know all of this? All of the… whatever’s going on.” He scowls, looking between Changbin and Minho.

The two share a glance, and then Changbin shrugs. “We’ve done some digging around.” He says with a smile. 

Seungmin opens his mouth to respond, but he can’t find the words. He isn't even sure what to _say_ to that. He looks at Hyunjin and Jeongin for some sort of assistance, but they just shrug. With a roll of his eyes, he mouths, _“Not helping”_ , and Jeongin just snickers to himself.

“The king is hosting the annual ball in four months, Seungmin. Changbin came to tell us because he’s been led to believe that it’s a front for something else, for the start of his plans, so we need to figure out how to get all of us inside the castle so we can stop this before it even begins.” Chan speaks up, stepping forward when he does. Seungmin glances at him and the man hesitates only for a moment, as though wary, before coming to a stop next to Changbin. “The king will stop at _nothing_ to get what he wants, even at the cost of innocent lives.”

“What part do I play in all of this?” Seungmin asks softly. “The king, he wants something with me, right?”

Chan, Minho, and Changbin are silent as an unreadable look passes between them. Finally, Minho sighs. “You’re in his way, Seungmin. If he succeeds, and you don’t...”

Well, that answers that question.

“Going to the castle… isn’t the opposite of what we should be doing? I mean… if the king knows about Seungmin, if he’s really trying to… to hurt him, he shouldn't be going to the palace.” Hyunjin seemed wary speaking considering that he really doesn't understand much of what was going on, but it seemed his concern for his best friend was more important than his confusion and anxiety about everything going on. 

“The king doesn't know Seungmin by face, only name and story, so as long as he doesn't do anything suspicious and doesn't use his name, he’ll be okay.” Minho explains. “But we’ve got precautions in place already. Changbin insisted it be a masquerade ball.”

“Wait, if the king doesn’t know who I am by face,” Seungmin frowns, averting his eyes to the ground. “Then how did he know to send those shadow dogs after me?”

“Actually,” Minho laughs sheepishly. “I sent those.”

“You _what?!”_ Seungmin exclaims, head shooting up. Jeongin groans and Hyunjin gasps, both of them sounding equally offended.

“I needed to get you here somehow! Chan told me how averse you were to all of this!” Minho explains, gesturing towards him vaguely. “Look, I admit, it wasn’t my best idea. But it worked, didn’t it?”

“I thought our _lives_ were in danger.” Seungmin scowls. “Never do that again.”

“I promise.” Minho says solemnly with a nod. Seungmin narrows his eyes at him and Minho just meets his gaze levelly. Finally, he sighs and looks away.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to go to a ball.” Jeongin mumbles, breaking the tension. “Do you think I could get away with wearing a dress?”

“I’ll get you the prettiest dress.” Hyunjin smiles fondly at Jeongin. Seungmin glances at Jisung, who’s frowning at the two. When the brunette notices Seungmin staring, his cheeks redden and he quickly averts his gaze to his shoes.

“Right, so… evil king is throwing a masquerade ball and we have to go because Changbin heard that something _might_ go down.” Seungmin finally says, his words slow as he goes over them in his head. “What if you're wrong? What if the ball never happens?”

“We have to take any chance we can get.” Minho replies solemnly.

Seungmin looks up and meets the man’s steady gaze. After a moment of consideration, and realization that everyone is looking to _him_ for a decision, he finally nods. “Okay.”

Still, he’s harboring his precautions about all of this. He can’t help the feeling that there’s something being left out.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Hours pass, the time spent mostly in silence, save for Jisung or Hyunjin trying to fill the time with games or conversation. The group finally settles in a small clearing away from the road some time after nightfall, their surroundings shrouded in a darkness that sets Seungmin on edge. A fire is lit and makeshift sleeping bags are laid out, allowing everyone someplace to settle down for the night. Hyunjin lays with Jisung and Jeongin, Minho lays with his head in Chan’s lap, Changbin prods the weak fire, and Seungmin sits a few steps away from the group to give himself some time to breathe.

He looks at the group of boys sitting around the small fire, all of them absorbed in their own quiet conversations. Seungmin frowns to himself. If they had looked to him for a decision earlier, would they keep doing it? Why him, anyways? He was the one most against doing any of this in the first place. 

_Just because I’m special, doesn’t make me a leader._ He thinks bitterly. He grimaces, digging his finger into the dirt in front of him. He just wanted to get Hyunjin and Jeongin home, but in the span of forty-eight hours, he managed to drag them further into this mess than he ever intended, and there was no way they could back out now.

Changbin looks up from the fire and locks eyes with Seungmin. For a split second, Seungmin wonders if he had said that aloud or, the more terrifying option, Changbin _could_ in fact hear his thoughts. That would make sense, considering Changbin could hear his dreams. 

As if to answer his pseudo-question, Changbin sets the stick down and rises from his spot, murmurs something to Chan, and approaches Seungmin. The closer he comes, the more Seungmin can feel a dull thrumming in his veins, like the blood itself is trying to reach out to Changbin. As though some deep, internal instinct in him is just programmed to know, he immediately places the feeling. _Magic._

_Soul magic._

“I never properly introduced myself, by the way.” Changbin says as soon as he reaches Seungmin, extending a hand in greeting. 

Seungmin looks from Changbin’s hand to his face, raising an eyebrow questioningly. “You still haven’t actually introduced yourself.”

“Ah, right.” Changbin chuckles. “Seo Changbin. False prince, realm jumper.” He sits across from Seungmin, cross legged, and grabs the latter’s hand, pulling it forward, palm up so he could hold his own hand next to it in the same way. “And your… how do I put this?” He pauses, staring at their hands. “Other half?”

“My other half?” Seungmin scoffs as he looks at Changbin with an eyebrow raised.

The other man gives him a smirk and nods towards their hands. “We’re two halves of one whole. We’re connected. It’s said that you could fail, and life as we know it will be destroyed, or you could succeed and…” 

“And?”

“...And nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He avoids meeting Seungmin’s eyes, his stare pointed at their hands instead.

Seungmin wants to press the question, something about the way Changbin finished left a bad taste in his mouth. Instead, he just nods towards their hands. “So what’s with the hands?”

“Focus on your palm.” Changbin instructs and nods at their hands. Seungmin stares at him momentarily, with his bangs hanging in his eyes and his lips slightly parted in concentration. On any other day, Seungmin might think he was beautiful.

Instead, he just looks at their palms and does his best to focus like Changbin said. The longer he stares and nothing happens, the more ridiculous he starts to feel. Part of him wonders if Changbin is pulling some weird prank on him.

After what feels like too long, he attempts to pull his hand away. “I don’t think—”

“Stop! Look.” Changbin cuts him off, his grip on Seungmin’s wrist tightening momentarily to stop him from pulling away. Seungmin rolls his eyes but looks anyways, expecting to see nothing – only to be greeted with a new sight. Soft light shines from their palms, mixing together and changing colors. It reminded Seungmin of the northern lights.

“Changbin, that’s beautiful.” He whispers. “What… What is it? How did you know?”

Changbin is quiet at first. He’s almost entranced by the way the lights danced between their palms. After a minute, he shakes his head and averts his attention to Seungmin’s face. “I took a wild guess?”

“A ‘wild guess’?” Seungmin raises an eyebrow in disbelief and snorts. Changbin just shrugs, looking back at their palms as Seungmin pulls his hand away just as the vibrating of their magic grew. He watches as the light slowly fades and tries to ignore the disappointed frown on Changbin’s face. “How are you able to accept all of this?”

“You’re not?” 

Seungmin hesitates. He rubs his wrist, thinking back to the smoke wolves, the scorched ring, his skin burning Hyunjin, his dreams. “A small part of me can’t stop thinking this is all some horrible nightmare that I’m gonna wake up from soon. I feel out of place.”

Actually, in truth, some of this was starting to feel weirdly natural, like he’s done this before. He just refuses to admit to himself.

“Ah.” Changbin clicks his tongue. “Yeah, I thought that too.”

“What changed?” Seungmin asks.

“I almost died.”

And to Seungmin’s disbelief, Changbin _smiles._

“Why are you smiling about that?” He scoffs.

“Because, if I hadn’t almost died, I would still be in your shoes and we’d been even farther behind in our plans.” Changbin laughs softly and leans back on his palms.

“So, what, I need to have a near-death experience just so I can suddenly accept that I dragged my best friends into a mess that doesn't concern them, put them in danger, almost got them killed once, and am now leading them to certain doom? Oh and I also suddenly have weird magic powers and I’m supposed to fight some evil king?” Seungmin spews, unable to stop the words from leaving his mouth. “It’s just hard to accept _this_ reality after I treated the paintings like… like an escape when I didn’t feel like doing my schoolwork.”

“And what is this reality?” Changbin inquires, gesturing widely.

“According to Chan and Jisung, I’m the _“Chosen one”,_ which sounds ridiculous in itself.” Seungmin huffs, tugging absently at the grass. Changbin is barely veiling a smile as he nods. “There’s the evil king that I have to fight, apparently, or else he’ll kill me. You, who I barely even acknowledged in school and now we’re suddenly… you know.”

“Soulmates? Connected? _Bound by fate?”_ Changbin coos teasingly, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes.

“God,” Seungmin groans, rolling his eyes. “When you put it like that, it just feels even weirder.” 

Changbin laughs, letting his hands fall into his lap. Seungmin manages to crack a small smile. Changbin has a nice laugh. His face falls a second later, averting his gaze to the ground. “Why are you all… looking to me? I’m not exactly leader material or anything. I mean, two days ago, I was just a university student. I had stopped travelling through the paintings and everything.”

“We’re looking to you because you’re the chosen one, Seungmin.” He says matter-of-factly, but it just makes Seungmin inwardly cringe. “You can’t lie to me and say that a louder part of you than the skeptical one is telling you that this is what you’re supposed to be doing.” Changbin admits. He’s still smiling. Seungmin hates that Changbin can read him like a book.

“It doesn't matter.” Seungmin mutters, scowling. “I just want to get myself and my friends home. Chan promised not to drag them into this and yet, here they are.”

“Is that why you shoved him?” 

“He deserved it.” Seungmin pouts. That’s not really true, honestly. Chan didn’t do anything, he left Seungmin and his friends alone like Seungmin asked of him. But right now, it’s easier to blame someone else. 

“You’re cute when you pout.” Changbin remarks, rather boldly, a smirk on his face.

Seungmin splutters. “E-Excuse me?!”

Changbin giggles. “You’re even cuter when you’re flustered.”

“Shut up!” Seungmin whines, his hands flying up to cover his cheeks when he feels them heat up. “If you call me cute again, I’m going to kick you.”

“Uh huh, I don’t believe you.” Changbin snorts, and then he leans in close. “You’re cute.”

True to his word, Seungmin (lightly) kicks Changbin’s shin. Changbin yelps overdramatically and buckles over, grasping the spot that Seungmin hit. He looks at Seungmin wide-eyed in disbelief.

“Oh please, I barely touched you.” Seungmin smirks.

Changbin opens his mouth to respond, a retort ready to fire, when loud rustling in the trees catches his attention. Immediately, Seungmin is on his feet, fists clenched and senses on high alert. He hears Changbin stand up behind him and guesses that he was checking on the others.

A giggle echoes around the surrounding area, starting from one end and ending on the other. Seungmin whips around and watches as the others drop what they’re doing, their eyes watching the tree canopy. 

“Watch them.” He instructs when Changbin looks at him expectantly. The man nods and hurries back to the fire.

(Somewhere in the back of his mind, it occurs to him that he took charge rather quickly. He ignores the thought, deciding it was something to deal with later.)

Seungmin turns in a slow circle, his eyes narrowed as he scans the trees. Slowly, the feeling of adrenaline surges in his chest and clears up all of his senses again, making it easier to see in the dark of the night and to hear over the fire and concerned whispers of his companions.

“Who’s there?” He calls.

Another giggle, but no response. And then silence.

Then Jeongin screeches. 

Seungmin whips around and acts before he can stop himself, lifting a hand in the direction of the scream and releasing a blast of energy from his palm. It looks like an arch of light flies over the temporary encampment, illuminating the surroundings and leaving a stunned silence. The feeling of having a vague understanding of what he was doing this time is _powerful,_ and it catches him by surprise.

He kind of likes it.

“You’re going to have to be faster than that, magic man.” A deep voice teases playfully, the sound echoing around them again.

Seungmin looks towards Jeongin first to make sure he’s unharmed. When he’s sure that his friend is fine – maybe a little shaken up, but otherwise untouched – he aims towards the trees this time. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” It’s Minho who replies.

Seungmin, with his hand still aimed towards the trees, looks at the blue-eyed man. “A who?”

“Felix, come out.” Minho calls, his tone exasperated but fond.

Slowly, someone lowers to the ground from the branch above Jeongin. They look annoyed and a little guilty, giving their best pout to Minho. “Sorry, Lino. I couldn’t resist. I wanted to see what all the hype about this “chosen one” was.” 

‘Felix’ is short, their build slim. Their ears narrow into points and white, glowing freckles speckle every inch of visible skin, and their skin is a pinkish color with tints of blue. Only a loose vest and a pair of well-worn trousers covers their body. The part that stood out to Seungmin the most, though, were the mushrooms and flowers growing from their shoulders and the bits of bark and moss littered across their face, neck, and legs.

“What… who, are you?” Seungmin asks slowly, lowering his hand and approaching Felix, his eyes wide in curiosity. 

Felix looks towards him, clearly noticing the look in his eyes because they smirk. “And might I say, he’s definitely impressive. With a little training, he’ll live up to his potential.” 

Seungmin pauses at that. “My potential?” 

Felix blinks at Seungmin in surprise. They look over the faces of the others, and then a grin spreads across their face. “Ah, they haven’t told you the full truth.”

Seungmin looks towards Minho. The blue-eyed man avoids his gaze. “What do they mean?”

“Lixie, maybe you shouldn’t—”

“Lili, you naughty boy.” Felix teasingly scolds, pointing an accusing finger at the blue-eyed man. “To fulfill your destiny, either you or Changbinnie will die by the other’s hand, as per the old texts. That is how it always ends.”

  
  
  
  


“ _Seungmin_!”

“Seungmin, please, hear me out!”

Seungmin doesn’t slow down and he doesn't let go of Hyunjin and Jeongin's hands, even with Minho calling after him. 

The second the words left Felix’s mouth, he had grabbed his friends’ hands and ran. He wasn’t going to die and he definitely wasn’t going to kill someone just to fulfill some ridiculous destiny for a world that isn’t even his own. These paintings have only ever brought him misfortune and as soon as he passes through the one to go home, he would never go through another.

“Seungmin, stop for a second and listen to me!” Minho yells this time, his voice bordering on angry for the first time since Seungmin had met him.

He stops, but doesn’t turn around. He feels Jeongin squeeze his hand and Hyunjin turn to look at the blue-eyed man behind them. 

“I’m sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I hoped that maybe without the influence of all parts of your destiny, you and Changbin might be able to change things and come out of this alive.” Minho explains. 

“Why does one of us have to die in the first place?” Seungmin asks, his voice eerily calm. He can feel his friends’ eyes on him.

Minho sucks in a shaky breath. “You two are considered light and dark, opposites of each other. The old texts state that dark is destined to leave the worlds in permanent ruin, making everything a desolate wasteland. This can only happen after snuffing out the light. And, of course, everything is saved if Light survives.”

“That makes no sense.” Seungmin, surprisingly, laughs. He lets go of his friends’ hands and turns to face Minho. “Everyone knows that light and dark can’t survive without each other.”

But Minho just smiles sadly. “This isn’t fantasy, Seungmin. This is the real world. One of you will be left standing, whether it be in the ruins of the worlds, or in the success of your win.”

“Felix said that’s how it _always_ ends,” Jeongin hesitantly says, glancing between his friends before turning his attention to Minho. “Has this happened before?”

Minho’s gaze slides over the three of them, and then he exhales. “Yes, it has. Many times over. Unfortunately, their last reincarnations were not so kind to this world, but thankfully it was only contained to Issinet. This time around, though, I fear that the other realms may not be as safe.” 

Again, Seungmin feels like he’s leaving something out. Something important. He hates this so much. 

“So, since Seungmin is the chosen one… does that make Changbin dark?” Hyunjin asks.

Minho nods, a sad smile on his face. “Unfortunately. Destiny a cruel mistress, I’m afraid.”

“Fuck destiny!” Seungmin finally snaps. “I’m not going to kill him and I’m sure as hell not going to let him kill me!”

“Hopefully it’s that easy.” Minho whispers. There’s a look in his eyes that’s unreadable, but something about it makes Seungmin feel uneasy.

As quickly as the uneasiness appears, though, Seungmin shakes it off. No, he’s tired of all of this. If he has to go fight this king and if he’s going to be stuck with Seo Changbin, his “ _other half”_ , then he isn’t going to follow the garden path. He isn’t going to follow some ancient decree just because that’s what everyone says fate has laid out for him.

He wants to run home, like he said he was going to. But he knows, in reality, that he wouldn't be able to live peacefully. He knows that he would just prolong the inevitable.

“No one is going to die.” Seungmin declares. Jeongin rests a hand on his shoulder, offering a supportive smile when Seungmin looks at him.

“I have faith that you and Changbin will be able to stop all of this without any destruction,” Minho says, but his tone is weak. “But I’m telling you that no victory ever came easily. You have to be prepared to do what you must. We’re all counting on you.”

Seungmin’s confidence fades slightly then. “You shouldn't be following me. I-I don’t know how to… how to lead. I’m not made for that.”

Hyunjin grabs his hand. “Seungmin, that’s not true. You’ve been in charge ever since we were kids.”

“But I’ve always been following you around, Hyunjin.” Seungmin mumbles in confusion, turning to look at his friend.

“Silly, it’s us who’s been following you. You’ve kept us safe, you helped us when it came time to start looking for a university. You initiated our friendships with each other, with Chan and Jisung, You got us here in one piece because we were following _you.”_ Jeongin explains. Seungmin looks between his friends and then at Minho. In truth, they were right. When they were running from the shadow dogs, Jeongin and Hyunjin were listening to his directions, they trusted him to keep them alive.

“I’m still… this is still hard to wrap my head around, but I- I’ll try.” He whispers. His own voice sounds foreign to his ears. Some part of him is still skeptical that he can’t do a good job, that he’ll end up getting them all killed somehow because of his own impulse, but then Jeongin and Hyunjin hug him tightly, and all that worry melts away. 

Minho exhales a sigh of relief and when Seungmin looks at him, Minho meets his eyes with an unreadable look, but he knows it's not good. As quickly as the skepticism and worry had dissipated, it comes right back tenfold, and Seungmin feels nauseatingly uneasy.

“We should go back to the others now.” Minho says, glancing over his shoulder.

Seungmin just sighs and detaches himself from his friends. He makes his way back to the fire, the other three close behind. Changbin stands from where he sat at the edge of the clearing when Seungmin comes into view, but Seungmin barely glances at him. Instead, he makes a beeline for Chan, who looks a little wary. He figures he needs to make amends there first.

“You’re not going to punch me again, are you?” Chan asks when Seungmin comes to a stop in front of him.

“No.” Seungmin shakes his head. “I’m sorry I pushed you, and I’m sorry I got mad at you before.” He looks over at Jisung. “And I’m sorry to you too. You’re both my friends and I should’ve trusted you.” Then he looks at Jeongin and Hyunjin, both wearing matching frowns. He just sighs and looks back at Chan.

Chan leans to the side to look past Seungmin, and then he looks up at him. “you’re forgiven.” 

“Yeah, I forgive you too.” Jisung pipes up. “This wasn’t easy for any of us to accept.”

Seungmin feels relieved. He offers both of them a small smile and turns to face the others. Hyunjin is sitting in between Jisung and Jeongin now, and Jeongin is now curiously stroking one of the flowers hanging off of Felix’s shoulder. (Felix’s cheeks are a deep red, but they seem otherwise giddy from the attention). Minho and Changbin stand together on the other side of the fire, their eyes fixed on Seungmin, awaiting his next move.

Seungmin clears his throat to get everyone’s attention, and almost immediately, all eyes are on him. “So… How do I say this?” He feels a little nervous, looking towards Hyunjin, who nods supportively. 

“I’m not… happy with this situation – though I guess none of us are. And frankly I think you’re all making a mistake in blindly appointing _me_ the… the leader, or whatever, but…” He trails off, absently picking at his nails. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, um, fuck the old texts, first of all. And secondly, I’m going to _try_ and do my best. Don’t expect too much, though.”

He watches Changbin and Minho share a glance and he watches Minho offer Changbin a small smile. Changbin seems mildly confused, but still turns his attention back to Seungmin. “Okay. You’ve got my support. Whatever you need, I promise.”

Seungmin, for the first time, smiles wide. Something about Changbin’s admittance warms his heart. “Now, what’s our gameplan?”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Turns out, their ‘game plan’ included a pitstop in the capital city. 

Minho explained that they would need better clothes, since they would be attending a _ball,_ but he knew someone who could help with no questions asked.

The trip to the town was three days at least, if they made minimal stops and covered as much ground as possible. It surprised Seungmin, really, he always thought the palace was so much closer than that. When he voiced his confusion, Minho told him that the path they needed to take was full of detours to avoid main roads and any of the king’s guard that might be patrolling. 

So as soon as dawn broke the horizon and soft shades of purple and red cast over the land, the small group got on the road. Felix tagged along for most of the trip, though spent a good chunk of their time chatting away with Jeongin and Hyunjin (the few times Seungmin had caught snippets of their conversation, he learned that Felix was a forest nymph, and that most nymphs were very _neutral_ in this world, but Felix cared about keeping their forest alive, and they couldn’t do that with the king in charge). Only when they left the forest did Felix say their goodbyes, much to everyone’s disappointment.

“I have to stay with my forest. I have to protect it until it’s safe again.” They had told the group when they had to say goodbye. They looked sad, but Seungmin understood.

Seungmin trailed along behind the cart, where he insisted he’d be the most useful there so he could keep an eye out from all directions. Secretly, he used it as an excuse to observe his companions. Hyunjin and Jeongin sat together in the cart, curled into each other and chatting quietly. Hyunjin was playing with Jeongin’s fingers and Seungmin briefly wondered if he was even aware of it. Jisung was messing with something, but Seungmin couldn’t see it from where he was.

Chan and Minho sat together on the front of the cart where Minho was steering the horse from. It took Seungmin a moment to notice that Chan’s arm was around Minho’s shoulders and he suddenly realized that they were probably a lot closer than Seungmin had initially realized. His suspicions were confirmed when Chan pressed a kiss to Minho's temple. Despite himself, Seungmin smiles.

Finally, he lets his eyes trail over to Changbin. He’s walking alongside the cart, his eyes watching the countryside. From afar, he looks relaxed, but Seungmin knows tension when he sees it. He sees it in the way Changbin’s jaw is set, the way his eyebrows furrow just slightly, the way he curls and uncurls the sleeves of his shirt. The biggest tell, though, is that Seungmin can just _feel_ the tension, as if it was his own. Seungmin sighs and scans the area around them one more time before catching up with Changbin.

“You need to relax.” He keeps his voice down, not wanting to get the others’ attention.

“I am relaxed.” Changbin mutters.

“Unfortunately, I can feel your tension, Changbin. You’re not.” Seungmin shoots back.

Changbin is quiet for a good few minutes and Seungmin almost wonders if he’s being flat out ignored until Changbin’s shoulders finally relax. “Sorry. This is all a little stressful.”

“Yeah, I know.” Seungmin agrees.

“I don’t want to go back to the castle.” Changbin whispers. He sounds _vulnerable_. 

Seungmin is good at a lot of things, but empathy isn’t one of them. Awkwardly, he reaches up and rests his hand on the man’s shoulder, hoping that would somehow help him feel better.

Changbin looks at the hand on his shoulder, and then at Seungmin, and then at the ground. He draws in a shaky breath and exhales slowly. “It’s lonely there. The halls are always so empty and... It’s just… scary there.”

Something about his tone worries Seungmin. “Changbin…” 

“Hm?”

“Has he… has he _hurt you?”_ He frowns, grabbing Changbin’s shoulder to slow him down a little.

Changbin looks at him in confusion, and then he chuckles, reaching to pat Seungmin's cheek reassuringly. “No, he hasn’t hurt me. He doesn’t want to ruin his perfect image, he’s smarter than that.”

“You sounded scared.” Seungmin says as he continues walking and Changbin falls into step with him.

“I’d be crazy if I wasn’t scared, Seungmin.” Changbin laughs. 

Seungmin looks at him in utter shock. “How are you always so... optimistic? How are you laughing about this?”

Changbin just shrugs and his smile widens. “One of us has to be, right?” he answers, his eyes sparkling. “And, well, it doesn’t seem like you’re going to be all sunshine and smiles anytime soon.”

Seungmin snorts despite himself. He sighs and shakes his head. “yeah, you’re probably right.”

Changbin laughs softly and ruffles Seungmin’s hair before pulling away. “Come on. Let's catch up with the others.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


They stop for the night in another clearing and chatter among themselves as they set up the fire and bedrolls. Seungmin watches from the edge of the clearing again, his back against a thick tree so he can keep an eye on the group and the dark forest beyond. He can hear the horse (who’s name is Beomie, he had learned) grazing nearby, unbothered by the sounds of wildlife around them. 

Seungmin looks at his hands, still feeling the tingle of his magic from yesterday. He liked how it felt to use it, if he’s honest, but it also scared him. Curiously, he tries to get the feeling of that energy back, summon something in his palms. Like a fire, or light, or _anything,_ but he’s not really sure how to make it work. 

His arm starts to hurt from straining, so he stops for now, and just looks out into the forest with a soft sigh. He’ll figure it out eventually, he’s sure, he just hopes it's soon. Or, worst case scenario, maybe it was a fluke and he won’t be able to pull anything like off again.

“Who wants a story?” Jisung’s voice cuts through the quiet, dropping the leg bone in his hand to the ground. Minho had caught them dinner earlier, some strange bird that Seungmin didn’t know the name of. 

The rest of the group exchange glances before Hyunjin answers, a smile on his face. “I would love a story.”

“Of course you would.” Jeongin mutters teasingly, and Hyunjin shoves him as his cheeks turn red in the glow from the fire.

“Great!” Jisung exclaims and stands up. The fire illuminates his face hauntingly as he clears his throat. Seungmin snorts, rolling his eyes and staring into the darkness beyond their makeshift camp as Jisung begins, voice low. “Once upon a time,”

“This is going to be so lame.” Changbin mutters and Minho snickers. Jisung sticks his tongue out at them.

“Once upon a time,” Jisung repeats louder, with a pointed glare at Changbin. “There was a boy.”

“There always is.” Jeongin interjects. 

“Are you gonna let me tell the damn story?” Jisung snaps.

Everyone laughs in response. Even Seungmin chuckles softly as he looks back at the group. He meets Changbin’s eyes across the fire, and the man just smirks at him. Seungmin feels his face heat up and he quickly averts his gaze.

“As I was saying!” Jisung raises his voice above the noise and everyone finally falls quiet, eyes watching intently.

“There was a boy, and he had very powerful magic. He used his magic to protect everyone.” He continues, and his eyes flit to Seungmin momentarily. Seungmin has a feeling he should pay attention. “Everyone admired him for it. People would come to his home and ask to see him perform, to show off his tricks. He was more than happy to, excited to make people smile with his gifts. He would dance with the fire, hypnotize people, draw in a crowd. They would throw him coins to thank him for the entertainment, since it was so scarce in their little town.

“One day, an old woman came to the town. She was so, so tired from her travels, and asked the little boy’s father if she could stay in their spare room for the night. The little boy’s father, ever so kind, was more than happy to open his home to her. She thanked him graciously and went straight to the room, ignoring the father’s offer for food.”

“Wait, I know this story,” Minho says suddenly. “Are you sure, Jisung?”

“Hush, Minho.” Jisung huffs, waving the blue-eyed man off.

Seungmin didn’t like that. 

“The little boy performed his show like usual that day, but he was distracted by the woman in his home. He couldn’t stop thinking about her strange energy.” Jisung pauses, eyes scanning the group. All of them were focused on him, their attention captured. “He thought she felt evil.”

“Lame.” Jeongin whispers. Hyunjin shoves him again, but Jeongin just giggles.

Jisung chooses to ignore him this time. The fire starts to dance a little more now, the flames licking higher than usual. Seungmin felt off. “When the little boy returned to his home that night, there was strange music coming from inside. He walks into his home to see the woman sitting in the middle of the living room, playing a harp, and the boy’s mother and father dancing around her. The boy thought it was weird, but before he could run for help, the woman stopped playing and looked at him with a crooked grin.

“ _Come and join me,_ She said, _You like to dance, don’t you?_ And oh, how the boy loved to dance, but he felt no joy about it this time. He shook his head and tried to move, but he couldn’t. He was stuck.”

“Jisung, I don’t like this anymore.” Hyunjin mutters. He averts his gaze, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. That gives Jisung pause, and he glances towards Seungmin for a moment. 

“I want to hear the rest.” Changbin says. He looks at Seungmin as well, a knowing look on his face.

Jisung nods and takes a deep breath before continuing. “The little boy tried to use his magic to escape, but he couldn’t. It wouldn’t work. The woman transformed then, no longer the crippled old hag, but rather an unnaturally tall lady, eyes as black as night and hair as white as ivory. The energy she radiated was so dark and evil, and the little boy was scared.

“ _You’re not welcome here._ He said bravely, despite his fear. He had heard stories of the lady. She was a deity, but not a kind one like the one the townspeople prayed to. She was the evil counterpart to their deity. _Go back to where you came from!_ The little boy screamed.

“The deity laughed, the sound booming around the room. The parents laughed as well, but it sounded forced and warped. They were still just her puppets, after all. _If you can fight me and win, I will leave._ She said. It was a challenge and trick, but the little boy was not so easily fooled. He was very wise for his age.

“ _No,_ He shot back. _I do not dance with Death._ The deity was angry. She reached for the little boy, but he broke through her spell. When he raised his hand to stop her, there was a blinding light. She let out a loud, guttural scream, the sound grating. The little boy watched as she was reduced to ashes, sprinkling around the room and coating the floor in a white blanket.

“His parents were confused as he ran to hug them, relieved that they were okay. The townspeople ran to his house, having heard the scream. He explained that Death had tried to take him away so she could reign supreme of the land he protected with his magic, but he was stronger than her and won. The townspeople cheered and threw a celebration in his honor, showering him in gifts. He humbly thanked all of them and promised to protect them for as long as he lived. The end.”

The group is silent for a moment, eyes wide as they stare at Jisung. Minho is the first to break the silence, an amused grin on his face. “You changed the ending.”

“I think we all needed some encouragement.” Jisung shrugs, a cheeky grin on his face. His gaze drifts to Seungmin, a knowing look in his eyes. “Afterall, we’ll be having our own dance with death in four months.”

Seungmin frowns at that. He looks down at his lap, laying his hands flat on his thighs. He knows their fates ride on his shoulders, and he doesn’t want to let them down, but there’s no guarantee they can actually _win_ this. According to Minho, they have no idea what the king is planning. For all they know, he could be 10 ten steps ahead already.

“Didn’t the little boy _literally_ say not to dance with Death, though?” Hyunjin suddenly asks. 

“I was trying to be cryptic and cool!” Jisung whines. “Way to ruin it.”

The two of them dissolve into a heated conversation, but Seungmin doesn't pay attention as Changbin settles in front of him, facing the forest. Seungmin stares at him for a moment before turning his gaze to the trees with a sigh. 

“Jisung usually has better stories.” Changbin says after a moment.

“That was kind of lame.” Seungmin tries to joke, to lessen the heavy dread settling in his stomach like a rock. It doesn't help much.

Changbin lets out a mirthless laugh. “There was some truth to it, though.”

“The woman represents death. We just have to beat it,” Seungmin nods. He props a knee up, absently picking at a loose thread on his pantleg. “Is that actually possible?”

Changbin hesitates, and his silence speaks volumes. still, he shrugs. “Well, the little boy did it.” 

“That’s a story.” Seungmin scowls. “Minho literally said that Jisung changed the end.”

“Just-” Changbin huffs, turning his gaze on Seungmin. “Just… we have to hope that we can.”

Hope. Hope is… well, it seems futile, considering how little of an advantage they had right now. Seungmin laughs bitterly. “Right, sure. _Hope.”_

Changbin glares at him, mouth set in a hard frown. Seungmin feels just a little guilty, but he doesn’t say anything. He just averts his gaze, shrinking away from Changbin as he stands up.

“You don’t have to have hope right now,” He says. “But don’t ridicule those of us who rely on it. These days, it’s all we have.” 

And then he walks away.

And Seungmin feels a bit of himself leave as well.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


When they reached the town, Minho told them that they still had some time to explore and that they would regroup at sundown. So, excitedly, Jisung and Hyunjin took off together and Chan and Minho took Jeongin with them, leaving Changbin and Seungmin alone with the horse and cart.

Changbin stares at Seungmin for a long moment before he walks over to the horse, running a hand along his neck. Seungmin just stays rooted to the spot by the cart, tugging nervously at his sleeves. He feels a little awkward suddenly. They haven’t really talked since a couple nights ago, but the guilt had been eating away at Seungmin. He wanted to apologize, but he wasn’t sure if it would seem genuine. 

He might as well try.

“Changbin,” His voice comes out an octave too high, and he clears his throat to try again. “Changbin.”

The man looks over at him, his hand pausing on Beomie’s neck. “Yeah?”

“Um,” Seungmin hesitates, gaze trailing to the horse, then the ground, then back up to Changbin. “I’m sorry about the other night.”

Changbin is silent for a moment. Seungmin almost worries that Changbin doesn't believe him, but then the man smiles. “It’s okay, Seungmin. I’m not mad.”

“But you’ve completely ignored me since then.” Seungmin pouts, averting his gaze to the stone path below him.

Changbin laughs and approaches Seungmin. “You made it very obvious up here,” He gently taps Seungmin’s forehead. “That you didn’t want to be bothered.”

“Oh.” He mutters dumbly.

“Follow me.” Changbin instructs, tone still amused. When Seungmin makes no move to follow, Changbin rolls his eyes and grabs his hand. Immediately, light filters through the gaps in their fingers and the buzzing in his veins grows barely stronger, like it was satisfied with the physical connection.

Seungmin doesn’t pull away.

“I want to show you something.” Changbin reassures. Seungmin slowly looks at the man, and upon meeting his eyes, something tells him to go. So he nods.

Changbin smiles, satisfied, and pulls him along. They walk in silence, weaving through the streets and past various buildings. Seungmin watches a woman – in what he assumed to be a bakery from the smells of freshly baked pastries wafting out of the door – gently scold two small children and send them out the back door of the building. He watches a man at an anvil pound away at red-hot metal, the sound bouncing off the buildings around them. He watches children run through the streets, yelling and laughing with each other. One could almost believe nothing was even wrong at first glance.

He opens his mouth to say something to Changbin, only for the man to press his free hand over his mouth and tug him into an alley. He has no time to react as he’s pushed against the wall, Changbin pressing against his chest, and their hands squeezed tight together. Seungmin spares a glance into the street and spots the king's guard, which he guesses is the reason for Changbin’s actions. Seungmin’s free hand flies up and bunches in the fabric of Changbin’s shirt, his body trembling as a group of the smoke men march past.

_Breathe._

The word rings loud and clear in his head, but it isn’t his own voice. His head snaps around, eyes wide, his gaze meeting Changbin’s. It takes only a curt nod from Changbin for Seungmin to understand. 

Unexpectedly, tears gather in his eyes. Changbin looks a little lost but shifts so he can hug Seungmin, the hand on his mouth now braced on his neck. The younger man hides his face away in Changbin’s neck, his hands grasping the back of his shirt for dear life, as though afraid that Changbin might slip away if he let go.

They stay like that for a while, even after the guards are long gone. Changbin stays ever patient, his hand rubbing comforting circles on Seungmin’s back and his grip on him tight but comforting. 

Only when Seungmin finally pulls away does Changbin speak up. “Are you okay?” He asks warily, giving Seungmin room to not give an answer if he doesn’t want to.

“Bad memories.” Seungmin answers, harshly rubbing away any stray tears. Gently, Changbin shoos his hands away and does it himself, his touch gentle on Seungmin’s cheeks.

“They tend to have that effect.” Changbin affirms, though his tone isn’t mocking. He understands. With a comforting and soft smile, he squeezes Seungmin’s hand. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

Seungmin just nods and wipes his eyes again as he lets Changbin lead him out of the alley and back into the street. They continue in silence towards what Seungmin assumes was the town square. The closer they get, the more apparent it becomes what Changbin wanted to show him.

Loud music and laughter slowly reach Seungmin’s ears, the sounds warm and inviting despite the current state of their situation. Changbin picks up the pace, leading him through the streets until they reach the town square, and the sight before them draws a gasp from Seungmin.

Men and women dance with each other to the music a little band is playing off to the side. People on the sidelines cheer and sing, mingling among themselves and sharing stories. For a moment, they just watch in wonder, and then Changbin tugs him into the crowd, mixing into the people dancing around each other as they push their way to the otherside where food stalls stand.

Changbin releases Seungmin’s hand and gets into line for one stall on the end, steam rising from two pots and curling around the people in line. Seungmin watches curiously for a few moments before laughter to his left catches his attention. He sees a woman and a couple of men beckoning to him from the dancing crowd, inviting smiles on their faces. 

Seungmin hesitates, glancing over at Changbin, before making his way over to the townspeople. The woman giggles happily and grabs his hand, spinning him around before the men link arms with him, helping him get his footing so he can follow their dance steps. He finds himself laughing a little too, easily getting the moves down, and soon he’s falling into a rhythm. He loses himself in the music and the people, spinning around others and letting his mind drift, merrily dancing to the rhythm of the music and the tapping of shoes against stone.

Changbin catches his eyes at one point, a shocked look on his face until Seungmin waves and then he smiles. Seungmin beckons to him, detaching from the woman he was dancing with, and Changbin doesn’t hesitate to set the two bowls of soup down and join Seungmin in the crowd.

“You didn't strike me as the dancing type, Seungmin.” Changbin comments when he stops next to the taller boy.

“I’m full of surprises.” Seungmin murmurs back. 

Changbin looks up at Seungmin, with his wide and curious eyes, lips parted, before they slowly stretch into a smile. Seungmin looks down when Changbin turns him so they’re facing each other and he watches Changbin’s hands fasten the buttons of his still-open vest with practiced ease. Then, with a smile, the raven-haired man grabs his hand, pulling him into the middle of the town square so they can dance together. 

Seungmin laughs in response, allowing Changbin to spin him around. He squeaks when the man dips him down and his hands fly to his shoulders so he doesn't fall. Changbin laughs and helps him back to his feet, pulling away afterwards to shimmy to the beat. Seungmin snorts, covering his mouth to attempt stifling his laughter. 

With a tiny smirk, Changbin grabs Seungmin’s hands and swings them back and forth to get him moving as well. “I can’t be the only one dancing.”

“Maybe I wanted to watch you.” Seungmin pouts but still sways his body along. Changbin’s smirk grows into a smile and he drops Seungmin’s hands in favor of dancing again.

For a moment, it's like everything is okay. Seungmin is dancing with a cute boy, surrounded by fun people and loud music. It almost feels like home, and he loses himself in the feeling, swaying his body to the beat and laughing along with Changbin. Everything else fades into the background and he forgets what he’s even here for in the first place. Maybe he could get used to this.

Then, just like always, the moment is over and something bad is happening.

Screams bounce off the walls of the surrounding buildings and the band abruptly stops playing. Seungmin’s body stills and his mind slowly tries to process what the hell is happening when Changbin grabs his hand and flees, but they don’t run this time. Instead, the second Changbin’s hand makes contact with Seungmin’s, he feels like he’s been thrown across the clearing and submerged deep in the ocean. When he finally catches his bearings again, they're standing next to their cart. He vaguely registers Chan and Minho before he collapses, his head swimming and his vision fading in and out.

“Whoa there,” Changbin’s face comes into focus. “You okay?”

Seungmin blinks at him a couple times to keep his vision from blurring again. “You can _teleport_.” 

Changbin snorts and helps him to his feet. “Sorry for not warning you. I panicked—didn’t actually know I could do that.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he makes a mental note that Changbin can _teleport,_ of all things, and files the information away for later. “What happened?” 

Changbin’s expression grows solemn. “King’s guard came looking for taxes and their methods aren't always the kindest.”

“Wait… were they hurting people?” Seungmin asks, sudden panic rising in his chest. 

“Um..” Changbin hesitates. He glances back at Minho, who just frowns in response.

“W-We have to go back and help.” Seungmin stutters and pulls his arm out Changbin’s grasp, moving to march back in the direction of the town square.

“Whoa, whoa! Hey! We can’t.” Chan stops him, his face coming into Seungmin’s line of vision.

“Why not?!” He snaps, his hands balling into fists.

“We’re still missing Jeongin, Jisung, and Hyunjin. We have to find them and get moving.” Chan explains.

Seungmin blinks, the information processing, and then he feels his blood begin to boil. “I thought Jeongin went with you.”

He notices a hint of fear flashing across Chan’s features, but it's gone so quickly that he wonders briefly if he imagined it. “He was with us. I… I don’t know how we lost him.”

“How do you not _know?!_ why weren’t you watching him?!” Seungmin’s voice begins to rise to a desperate wail, the fear and panic rising again. Sure, he was worried about the townspeople, but he wouldn’t survive if something bad happened to his best friends.

“Seungmin-” Minho tries to interject. Seungmin just cuts him off and reaches for Changbin’s hand. The latter understands immediately, only giving Minho a brief and apologetic glance before grabbing Seungmin’s hand. The second they touch, they're disappearing from sight.

When they reappear, somewhere deep in the town, Changbin’s grip on Seungmin’s hand tightens long enough to stop the man in place. “Hold on. Breathe for a moment.”

Seungmin casts him a sideways glance, mildly confused and a little more annoyed that there was another obstacle in his way. He trusted Changbin to help him, not stop him.

“Panicking isn’t going to help you find him, Seungmin. Just take a deep breath and let your body relax.” Changbin further explains, his hand squeezing Seungmin’s reassuringly.

Seungmin hesitates for a moment, considering briefly if he should shake the man off and look for his friends on his own, but then a voice somewhere in the back of his head tells him to stop being so dumb for a moment. So, his body relaxes as he breathes in deeply. “I'm sorry. I just… I can’t lose them, of all people.”

“I understand. Chan and Jisung are that for me. When I got stuck here, I panicked for a good hour, worrying myself sick that something might happen if I wasn’t there to protect them, but I had to remind myself that they were perfectly capable of protecting themselves.” Changbin says, a knowing look in his eyes.

Seungmin’s shoulders slump a little. “Jeongin and Hyunjin aren’t them, though. They haven’t had to worry about this place and what might happen because they didn't even know it existed until two days ago. I mean, Hyunjin is probably okay, he’s with Jisung, but Jeongin is by himself with angry guards everywhere. They don’t know how to protect themselves like you or Minho, Chan, and Jisung.”

Changbin is quiet for a good few seconds before tightening his grip on Seungmin’s hand and transporting them to the top of a lookout tower. Upon further glance, Seungmin realizes it overlooks the town and he scrambles towards the railing, scanning the streets for any sign of his friends.

He watches the king’s guard march along the streets like ants, shadowy smoke pouring from their masks as it struggles to hold its form. Anywhere Seungmin looked, he could see at least one. Men and women cower in their presence, holding children close to their chests. Seungmin feels powerless to protect the townspeople, and suddenly, he wants–no, _needs_ to save them. He needs to get close to the king, to stop him as soon as possible.

“After we find Jeongin, I’m coming to the castle with you.” Seungmin announces after a few minutes of deliberation. It’s risky, and could potentially create problems, but if he plays his cards right, everything will move smoothly and they’ll stop this in its tracks months before anything actually happens.

Hopefully.

“What?!” Changbin exclaims from behind him. 

Seungmin turns to look at the man, his hand still gripping the railing tightly. “I can do some searching around undercover. if he doesn't know me by face, then I’ll be fine.” 

“Seungmin, no. It’s too much of a risk.” 

“Look, you all want me to be involved. I want this to just be over with. If I can do my part early and get my friends and I home as soon as possible, then I’m going to do what I can.” Seungmin says and turns back around to look out at the town. “You can’t change my mind.”

Changbin is quiet for a few minutes, and then he stands by Seungmin’s side to help him look. “Fine. But during the day, you stay in my room. Everyone’s asleep at night, it's the best time to go searching.” 

Seungmin looks at him in surprise, honestly having expected more of a fight. Still, he just relaxes and exhales. “Thank you.” 

They both fall silent again, their eyes scanning the streets and alleys. After a moment, Seungmin notices movement in an empty road. He squints, and thinks he recognizes the person as his friend. He grabs Changbin’s hand and points at the person, and a second later, they appear in an alley just behind them.

Seungmin leans out just enough to get a good glimpse, and that’s enough to confirm the identity of his friend. Immediately, he runs out from the alley and swings Jeongin around, hugging him tightly. His friend squeaks in surprise, tensing, until he realizes who’s holding him and he melts into the hug.

“Fuck, Jeongin,” Seungmin exhales, hiding his face in Jeongin’s shoulder. “Why weren’t you with Chan and Minho?”

“Sorry, Minnie. I got distracted and wandered away and when I looked behind me they were just… gone.” Jeongin explains. His hands tightening in Seungmin’s vest tells him that Jeongin is a little more shaken up than he’s letting on. “I was trying to find my way back to the cart but I got lost.”

“Okay.” Seungmin nods. He pulls back, cupping Jeongin’s cheeks. He looks him over before relaxing. “It’s okay, I promise.”

“What matters is that you’re safe.” Changbin says as he approaches them. Seungmin glances at him to see him scanning their surroundings. “Now, we should probably get out of here.”

Seungmin nods and grabs Jeongin’s hand and then Changbin’s, and then they’re back at the cart. Jeongin stumbles a bit in surprise and Seungmin quickly catches him, making sure to steady him. Both of them laugh shakily, just relieved that they’re safe.

And then Hyunjin is on Jeongin, grabbing his face in his hands and checking him over for any injuries. He pulls him into a hug when he’s positive his friend is unharmed, holding him tight enough to bruise.

Seungmin watches them for a moment, and then exhales, turning to the rest of the group. “I’m going to the castle with Changbin.”

Hyunjin and Jisung stare at him, wide-eyed. Chan and Minho share a look, and Changbin just watches silently. Hyunjin is the one to speak first. “No.”

“Hyunjin, I’ve got this.” Seungmin scowls. He isn’t in the mood to argue over this. If they want to stop the king before something bad happens, he needs to get closer. “He doesn't know who I am by face, only by name. As long as I don’t go looking for him, I’ll be fine.”

“So what the hell are you gonna call yourself if you come face to face with him before you’re ready?” Hyunjin asks, his tone tense. Seungmin feels bad for stressing his friend out so much, but he can’t think of a better alternative to this.

He considers Hyunjin’s question, chewing absently on his bottom lip. He looks at Changbin who just gives him a shrug in response, and then he looks towards the sun slowly setting. “Sky.”

“...Sky?” Minho speaks then. He looks confused.

“Yeah, Sky. Sky Kim.” Seungmin nods. He scans the faces of his companions, a mixture of confusion and intrigue on all of them. He stops at Jeongin and he frowns. “I’m taking Jeongin with me.”

Jeongin's head shoots up in shock and Hyunjin grabs his arm. “Absolutely not! Are you crazy?!” 

“Seungmin, I don’t think that’s wise.” Chan warns.

Seungmin rears on him, though. “You don’t get a say in this. You lost him once, I don’t trust him under your care anymore.” He hisses. Then, after a slow exhale, he straightens up. “Besides, he’s good at finding things that are hidden.”

Jeongin is silent for a moment. He stares at Seungmin and then at Changbin, and then he looks towards the castle. “Yeah, alright. I’ll come.”

“What?!” Hyunjin gapes at him, shock and fear taking over his features.

“I’ll go with Seungmin and Changbin.” Jeongin repeats, walking over to stand next to his friend, grasping his hand delicately.

“Minho?!” Hyunjin looks over at the blue eyed man in distress. Minho just shrugs, sharing a glance with Changbin. Their expressions are unreadable.

Finally, Jisung places a hand on Hyunjin’s arm. “Trust him. Trust all three of them—or, at least trust Changbin. He’ll keep them safe.”

Seungmin meets Hyunjin’s eyes, silently pleading with him to trust him with this. Hyunjin’s mouth opens, closes, then opens again. He frowns, looks down, and Seungmin can see the gears turning in his head.

Finally, “Let me come too.” Hyunjin says, taking a step forward. “Please.” He adds, and grabs Seungmin’s hand.

“Hyunie-”

“We’re a package deal, remember? You, Jeongin and me.” Hyunjin squeezes his hand. “Please don’t leave me behind again.”

Seungmin hesitates. He looks behind Hyunjin at Jisung, who’s staring at the back of Hyunjin’s head with a sad expression. Chan and Minho just frown, but they don’t protest. Finally, Seungmin looks back at Hyunjin and nods. “Okay.”

Hyunjin exhales, in relief, pressing his forehead to Seungmin’s. Seungmin closes his eyes, soaking in the comfort he naturally draws from his best friend. Vaguely, he feels Changbin’s hand tighten around his and he turns to look at the man as Hyunjin’s head slips to his shoulder instead.

“We need to be going.” Changbin says cooly, his eyes regarding Hyunjin with an odd expression. Seungmin just shakes it off and nods in response. He looks at Chan, Jisung and Minho, the three watching them with matching expressions of concern.

“You’ve got four months, Seungmin.” Minho says. “We’re counting on you.”

The last thing Seungmin sees before Changbin blips them away is Chan’s eyes narrowing at him, almost suspiciously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fun fun! see you all next week hehehe
> 
> also, in life is so so good :O what's your favorite song?
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


	3. Starsweeper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday seungminnie ! if only this chapter was only a tad more lighthearted for today.  
> hope you all enjoy!

_You are more than you think._

Changbin lands them in his room, sending Hyunjin and Jeongin to the floor as they try to regain their bearings. Seungmin just stares at the blandness of the room with a slight frown. The only things decorating it were a bed, a wardrobe, a table and a blue velvet chair, and an end table. There were two glass doors off to one side of the room that lead onto a grand balcony, and another door opposite of the bed that led to the bathroom. Granted, it was a nice room, spacious, but it felt lonely.

“How are all four of us supposed to stay in here?” Hyunjin is the first to speak, finally finding his footing and taking in the room.

“You two will be staying with the servants, the king never gives any of them a second glance, so he won’t realize there’s two new additions.” Changbin answers.

“The servants?” Jeongin pouts.

“They’re kind, truly. They’ll love you both and make sure you feel comfortable.” Changbin reassures him.

“What about me?” Seungmin asks, hesitantly.

“We already agreed you’d stay in here with me.” Changbin turns to him, his head cocking to the side.

Seungmin just nods in response. He meets Hyunjin’s questioning gaze, but just shakes him off and instead walks over to the bed to sit on it, only to sink further into the mattress than he expected. 

“Help.” He croaks, and stares, wide-eyed, at Changbin as the man laughs and hurries over to help him.  
  
“Sorry about that.” He tries to sound sincere, but his words are punctuated with little giggles. Even Jeongin and Hyunjin are trying to hold back laughter.

Seungmin just mutters, “Shut up”, under his breath and readjusts himself on the bed after swatting Changbin’s hand away. 

“I’ll be back after getting Hyunjin and Jeongin settled, okay?” Changbin promises, but Seungmin just shrugs and stares out the balcony doors. Hyunjin comes into his line of sight and hugs him tightly, his face pressed to his neck. Carefully, Seungmin wraps his arms around his friend and sighs gratefully into the embrace.

“We’ll try and sneak in here as much as we can, okay?” Hyunjin whispers. Seungmin nods, grasping the back of Hyunjin’s shirt tightly. Jeongin clambers onto the bed from the other side and latches onto Seungmin’s back, his cheek pressed to his shirt.

“Stay safe, guys.” Seungmin murmurs when his friends finally pull away. He meets Changbin’s eyes as the man holds the door open for the two, and then they’re gone.

As soon as Seungmin is alone, he slides off the bed and walks around the room slowly, trailing his finger along the worn cobblestone walls, the empty shelves, and the woodframes of the doors. When he reaches the chair and table, he notices a book on top of the table, open to the beginnings of a children’s tale about dragons. The pages had a thin layer of dust covering them, telling Seungmin it had been left like that for some time. With a sigh, he runs his fingers along the page and just makes his way back to the bed, letting his body sink into the mattress once more. 

“I don’t even know what I’m doing.” He whispers into the empty air, as though something would whisper back and give him the answers he needed. “They expect me to be a leader but I don’t even know how to do that. I… I want to, but I don’t even know what all of this means.”

When he gets nothing in response, he just sighs and sits up, staring down at his hands instead. As he stares at them longer, the harder he tries to focus on summoning his energy once more, nothing comes. He feels useless. With a scowl, he closes his hands into tight fists, tight enough to feel the sharp pain of his nails digging into his palms, but he pays it no mind as he lets his body fall back into the bed with a frustrated grunt. 

“I feel so fucking ridiculous.” He mutters, again.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Changbin doesn’t return until the moon is high and the castle halls were near silent. 

Seungmin stiffens and looks up when the door opens slowly, momentarily fearing that perhaps someone else was entering. But then Changbin’s head pops in, his eyes scanning the room carefully before he enters and quietly closes the door behind him. He holds a tray of food, steam rolling off two matching steaks.

Seungmin sets down the book he was reading (the same one from the table, he was enjoying the tales a little too much) and sits up off the pillows, his eyes narrowing at Changbin. He tries to seem upset, but relief blooms in his chest at the sight of the man. “Where were you?”

“The king wanted to have dinner with me since I was “home”.” Changbin explains nonchalantly, but the way his eyebrows are drawn together and his mouth is set in a hard frown gives him away.

“What happened?” Seungmin asks softly, his concern for Changbin's wellbeing when it comes to the king taking over. Briefly, he feels his power wake up when that same protective instinct fills his chest once more, and then it fizzles out as quickly as it appeared. He files that away for later observation.

Changbin stays quiet, at first, simply bringing the tray of food over and setting it between them as he sits on the bed. Seungmin glances at the steaks for a moment, and then back at Changbin, and just as he’s about to ask again, Changbin finally speaks. “He caught word that I was with Minho.”

“Oh.” Seungmin frowns. Is Minho well-known? and if he is, is it good or bad? Though, considering who exactly Minho is (as much as Seungmin knows, that is. Though, thinking about it, he doesn’t even know… anything about Minho). “Is that bad?”

Changbin hesitates, again. He opens and closes his mouth a couple times, as though trying to figure out how to respond. Finally, he just sighs, almost dejectedly. “I don’t know. Minho has told me before that if we had ever been spotted, that it was okay to lie. I… I had to tell my father—sorry, the king, that Minho was holding me hostage.” 

Seungmin’s frown deepens. Unsure of how else to comfort Changbin in his decision, he just reaches over and grabs the man’s hand. As always, a soft glow emanates from between their palms. “Minho will be okay. I have a feeling he’s pretty capable of protecting himself. Plus, he has Chan and Jisung.”

“He is, and I know that. I just feel bad that I had to do that in the first place.” Changbin shakes his head. He stares at their hands, but doesn’t pull away. “It felt like I was betraying him somehow.”

“I know.” Seungmin squeezes his hand gently, which earns him a half smile from Changbin. “But you weren’t, and Minho knows that. Just things we have to do to win, right?”

Changbin doesn’t respond as he just stares at him, expression unreadable, before he slowly pulls his hand away and picks up his utensils. “Let’s eat.”

They’re both quiet as they eat, the only sound being that of their utensils clinking against the plates and their chewing, and only when they’ve both finished and awkwardly settled side by side on the bed does Seungmin finally break the silence. “How are Jinnie and Jeongin?”

“Settling in nicely, I hope. I left them with the heads of staff who promised to take good care of them and I trust them, so they should be okay.” Changbin reassures. “Actually, can I ask you a question about Hyunjin?”

Seungmin frowns, contemplating the question. After another beat or two of silence, he slowly nods. “Sure.”

“Are you two… like, together?” Changbin seems hesitant, almost unsure of his words. and he's picking nervously at a loose thread on his pants.

“What-? No! God, no.” Seungmin exclaims, his eyes wide as he stares at Changbin in disbelief. “I see him as like… a brother- god, no.”

Changbin snorts, nodding just slightly. “Okay, okay! I was just curious, cause you two are so… touchy.”

“Touchy?”

“I don’t know! He hangs all over you! And before we arrived here you two touched foreheads and stuff.” Changbin waves his hands around awkwardly, though his cheeks are flushed in embarrassment. “I was just curious.”

“What, you don’t forehead touch your bros?” Seungmin teases, biting back a laugh.

“Well-!” Changbin cuts himself off, sticking his tongue in his cheek. Finally, he releases a defeated huff. “No, not really. But Chan and Jisung aren’t like that, usually.”

“Ah, I see.” Seungmin hums. After a silence settles over them after that, neither sure of how to continue the conversation, he rolls onto his side with his back facing Changbin and whispers a quiet, “goodnight”, hoping to just get a full night of sleep.

“No exploring tonight?” Changbin asks. 

Seungmin almost wants to ignore him and just try to sleep, but he’s speaking before he can stop himself, though the thought that Changbin would probably be able to read his thoughts crosses his mind, and he wouldn’t be able to totally ignore him anyways. “I just want to rest a bit before I go putting myself in any danger.”

Changbin is quiet for a moment, and then the bed moves as he settles further into the mattress. He doesn’t respond to Seungmin’s statement, and as a silence falls over them again, Seungmin almost hopes that the other man has fallen asleep, but then he speaks again. 

“It’s nice to have someone else with me.” Changbin whispers. The words hit Seungmin’s back, telling him that Changbin is facing him, and the thought makes him nervous, but also warms his cheeks. _Traitor,_ he thinks to his heart, especially when it begins to pound against his chest like a drum. 

He doesn’t respond to Changbin, but he doesn’t think he needs to, as it takes one risky glance over his shoulder to see that the man had fallen asleep already. With a sigh, Seungmin rolls over fully, facing Changbin, and despite everything, he smiles at the sight. Changbin sleeps with his lips parted and his cheeks squished, looking like a cherub. In his sleep, any stress etched into his features melts away, and he looks peaceful. As though there’s nothing left in the world to worry about.

“Sweet dreams.” Seungmin whispers, and allows sleep to take him.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Days pass, and the days turn into a week, with little to no progress on their original mission. Seungmin can’t be too mad, though. Whenever Changbin returns to the room, he’s drained and exhausted, and Seungmin decides it's better to leave him be.

It’s morning when Seungmin wakes on the first day of the second week, sunlight filtering through the balcony doors. There’s quiet commotion to the left of him, but he can’t make it out in his sleep-addled state. He groans and sits up, rubbing his face and eyes to try and rid the sleep from them. 

“Minnie!” Hyunjin’s voice explodes next to him. “You’re awake!”

Seungmin barely has time to react before his friend is launching at him, pinning him to the bed. Seungmin yells in surprise, but wraps his arms around Hyunjin anyways, the familiar warmth both shocking and welcoming. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m Changbin’s personal servant now–and Jeonginnie, too. I’ll be bringing you both breakfast every morning and Jeongin will be bringing you dinner every night since Changbin has to eat with the king.” Hyunjin explains excitedly. He still hasn’t moved an inch from where he laid on top of Seungmin. Seungmin wants to ask how they’re going to manage bringing suspicious trays of food to the false prince’s bed chambers everyday, what with castle staff and guards patrolling all over, but the words die on his tongue as Changbin speaks.

“He’s a little too excited about bringing us food, don’t you think?” Changbin speaks off to Seungmin’s right. Seungmin glances over to see the raven-haired man standing against the wall with a smile, already dressed in his day clothes. He looks so different from the man he had first met, radiating with a regal sort of confidence. Royalty suits him, Seungmin thinks, as Changbin’s smile grows and he jerks his head towards Seungmin. “Get changed, I want to show you the garden.”

“I thought I couldn’t leave during the day?” Seungmin raises an eyebrow, his hand that was rubbing Hyunjin’s back now falling still. 

“The king and queen are out mingling among the common folk today.” Changbin replies with a small smile.

Seungmin glances at Hyunjin, whose smile just grows. With a sigh, he nods and nudges his friend off so he can look through the wardrobe for something to wear. He picks out a simple white undershirt and a soft blue vest to go over it, a pair of black trousers, and golden-embroidered boots. Simple, but he figures it fit the occasion. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows little six-year-old Seungmin was squealing with joy at being able to play prince for a day.

He’s grown up a lot since then.

Vaguely, he registers Hyunjin and Changbin chatting quietly to each other, and as he turns to enter the bathroom, he can see them standing close out of the corner of his eye. With a sigh, he shuts the door behind him and peels off his night clothes, tossing them in a pile against the wall. Carefully, he pulls on the nicer, well-tailored clothes from Changbin’s wardrobe. He expected them to be a little too small on him, but they fit comfortably enough.

With a sigh, he heads back out into the bedroom, where his friends fell silent. Hyunjin is smiling at the sight of him, whereas Changbin just stares, lips parted just slightly, and eyes widened barely. Seungmin glances down at himself, tugging self-consciously at his sleeve. “I look ridiculous, don’t I?”

“No!” Hyunjin exclaims at the same time Changbin says, “You look nice.” 

Seungmin’s eyebrows shoot up in shock at Changbin's comment, and the boy just meets his eyes levelly, a spark of confidence settling behind them. It sends a shiver down his spine, but he doesn't get the chance to react further before Hyunjin is on him, combing his hair back and wiping any remaining sleep from his eyes with a smile.

“If I didn't know any better, I’d say you were the crown prince instead of him.” Hyunjin gestures over his shoulder at Changbin.

Seungmin glances behind his friend at the man, and upon closer inspection, realizes that he’s wearing a navy blue vest on top of a black undershirt. He looks nice. Changbin raises an eyebrow when he notices Seungmin staring, and Seungmin quickly averts his gaze.

“You forget though, Hyunjin, I’m the _false_ prince.” Changbin jokes. He pushes off the wall and strides over to them, shooing Hyunjin out of the way and stepping in front of Seungmin to fix the front of his vest. “He’s right, though, you fit in perfectly.” He murmurs, his voice gentle. A look flashes in his eyes, almost unreadable, and it gives Seungmin pause. 

Seungmin opens his mouth to respond, unaware of the heat rising up his neck. He doesn't have the chance to though, as Hyunjin rolls his eyes and grabs both of their arms, fitting himself in between them as he links his arms through theirs, pulling them towards the bedroom doors. Seungmin stays silent as Changbin opens the doors and the three of them slip out into the hall and in the direction of what he guesses is the garden.

He stays silent as Hyunjin asks question after question about the castle, and Changbin answers with carefully calculated patience, each response punctuated with an amused smile. Seungmin tries to pay attention, his ever unsated need for knowledge clawing at his skin, trying to force him to listen as Changbin answers Hyunjin’s curiosity, but his mind strays elsewhere. He wonders how Jeongin is settling on his own, with the servants of a—presumably—blood-thirsty king. but he had no choice but to trust Changbin that the castle staff were trustworthy. 

Suddenly, something occurs to him. He freezes, staring at the hall around him. He recognizes the paintings lining the wall and the unlit candelabras placed between each one. 

He detaches from Hyunjin’s side and stumbles over to the window, pressing his hands to the glass like he’d done years ago, the second time he fell through a painting. He had been visiting the Louvre museum with his dad on a much-deserved vacation, the same painting he told Jisung and the others about, which felt like a lifetime ago. He remembered how he almost got caught that time, who he assumed had been the king just rounding the corner as Seungmin disappeared back through the frame. The thought made his heart pound and his breathing speed up, unsteady.

The land below looks as it had then, rolling green hills, a thick forest at the edge of the field. A river flows off to one side, disappearing out of sight the farther it stretches. Seungmin can barely see the rooftops of town houses in the distance. It looks so peaceful, so out of place among the menacing castle halls. Like something from a dream.

A gentle hand falls on his shoulder then, startling him out of his thoughts. His hands fall from the windows, and he’s completely unaware of the slightly warped imprints he had left behind as he meets Changbin’s eyes, full of sympathy and warmth. He doesn’t even need to say anything, he already knows that Changbin understands. Honestly, in Seungmin’s opinion, he was partially glad they had that part of their connection. It meant he didn't have to verbally talk about it. 

Changbin pats his cheek gently, offering a reassuring smile before entwining their fingers and leading him back to Hyunjin so they could continue on to the garden. Seungmin feels just a little lighter, now that Changbin’s hand is in his own and Hyunjin is on his otherside. He feels safer knowing they’re both there. 

When they reach the gardens, Hyunjin immediately slips from his gasp and skips ahead a little, his eyes wide with childlike wonder at the sight of the strange and curious flowers growing. Seungmin just smiles to himself, knowing that he had seen these flora plenty of times before. He still appreciates their beauty, only quieter. He glances at Changbin, the man’s features highlighted by the morning sun and the glow from various flowers around them. 

“Hey, Changbin?”

“Hmm?”

“Who is Minho, exactly?” It’s not what he wanted to say, but he might as well ask anyways. He keeps his voice down though, as if someone else might hear them, even though the only other person with them was Hyunjin, and he was currently dancing along the flower-lined path. He’s been wondering about Minho for awhile now, curious about the dark aura that surrounds the man, his blue eyes, the scars. 

Changbin doesn't respond right away, but he doesn't look uncomfortable, just deep in thought. He chews on his bottom lip, clearly trying to figure out how to word his response. 

Finally, he glances at Seungmin out of the corner of his eye and gestures to the lower half of his face. “His scars came from an accident similar to what I experienced, in this place just called the ‘Tower’, it’s true name lost in the centuries. Awful place, really. I ended up there by accident, but Minho was dragged there because he commited a crime worthy of the punishment. The scars cover his whole body. But… instead of surviving, like I did, he didn't come out of it alive. But he’s not really… dead, either. it’s like he's frozen in time.”

“What crime did he commit?” a little shocked at the response. Though, in hindsight, it made sense, honestly. Minho has always been a little… cold. Off-putting. (He makes a mental note to do some research on the Tower later as well—if there was any information on it at all.)

Changbin smiles bitterly. “The worst of them all,” He says. “He took something important to the King.”

“What did he take?” 

“He won’t say.” Changbin shakes his head. “He says it’s better left in the past.” 

Seungmin hums. He’s felt that Minho has been hiding something _more_ from them, something that could be helpful. He just doesn’t understand why. 

“How did you survive the Tower?” Seungmin frowns. If both of them have been, but only Changbin made it out intact, then _how?_

“I’m sure Chan has already told you this, but you and I aren't exactly normal. Where most people — jumpers, specifically — would die or their fate would be worsened, you and I can withstand a lot more. Sure, we still experience the pain, but it’s a lot harder to kill us.” He stops walking and detaches his hand from Seungmin’s, unbuttoning his vest and lifting up his shirt to reveal three giant, twisting scars stretching from his chest to just below his pants. Seungmin gasps, and as though they were his own, he feels a dull ache in his own chest. Changbin just smiles though, dropping his shirt and re-fastening his vest buttons. “So, yeah.”

“So, Minho doesn't… age, or anything, right?” Seungmin questions, though with a little more hesitance. As they start walking, Changbin once again links their hands, even though he has no reason to. 

“No, he doesn’t.” Changbin shakes his head. “Unfortunately, he’s been stuck like that for a very long time.”

That explains a lot, really. Part of him had wondered, when he first discovered that Minho was still as young as he seemed when they first met, and how it was possible. At first, he thought it was because time moved differently here, but that would've meant that Minho would’ve aged even faster. With a frown, he remembers Chan, and his very obvious relationship with Minho.

He doesn’t even have to ask outloud for Changbin to answer that time. “They're working on it. Chan loves Minho, and he knows what he’s getting himself into.”

Seungmin just nods in response. He decides he’s done talking about the subject, his head swimming with the image of Changbin’s scars and the knowledge that the man really had almost died. Something in him stirred, some feral, dark rage in the pit of his stomach, directed at whoever had threatened Changbin’s life. 

For the second time in the past week, he wonders why he’s taken so easily to Changbin, so easily gotten attached to him in a way that had taken him months with even Hyunjin. _The connection,_ he tells himself, but it’s still hard to fathom that it is, in fact, fate or destiny or whatever the fuck it is. Only months ago, he had barely even acknowledged Changbin’s existence, barely aware he even existed, and now, _well._

“You’re thinking too hard.” Changbin’s soft voice drags him out of his thoughts.

“I do that.” He replies coolly.

“Relax a little, Seungmin.” Changbin squeezes his hand. “We’re going to be okay.”

“And if we’re not?”

Changbin stops walking. Seungmin looks over at him, a frown on his face as Changbin stares at him. “Seungmin,”

_Smooth, Seungmin._ He scolds himself. 

“We will be, okay?” Changbin says firmly.

Seungmin can only nod. He wants to disagree, but he decides against it. It’s probably better to keep his thoughts to himself for now, as much as he can anyways.

Changbin just sighs and tugs on his hand gently. “Come on, _chosen one,_ before your friend gets eaten by a plant or something.”

Despite the weird shiver that hearing Changbin call him by that title sends down his spine, Seungmin follows Changbin. “That can happen – there are plants big enough to eat people here?”

“Welcome to Issinet.” Changbin laughs, gesturing vaguely at the flowers. Seungmin gapes at him, scanning the garden. He wants to run to the library immediately and research all the flora and fauna, but he holds off on that for now.

They finally catch up with Hyunjin then, Changbin detaching himself from Seungmin and approaching the other boy, whose eyes are practically popping out of his skull at the sight of a particular huge flower. Seungmin stays back as he listens to Changbin tell Hyunjin a few facts about the flower, which only furthers Hyunjin’s fascination with it. He just smiles to himself.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Changbin and Seungmin part ways with Hyunjin near sunset and return to Changbin’s room, their pinkies linked this time. Changbin had grown quieter the more time that passed, and only when he was out of the bathroom and dressed in evening attire did Seungmin finally ask him what was wrong.

“You’ve been quiet since we left the garden.” Seungmin comments from where he sits cross-legged on the bed. “Do you _absolutely_ have to go to dinner?”

“The king demands my presence. The queen politely requests it.” Changbin sighs, his voice tired. “I have to.”

“Are you sure we can’t figure out some way to get me to attend with you?” Seungmin suggests, but he already knows the answer. Besides, he has to start searching for answers around the castle, something that might give them the upperhand, and with the royals eating dinner and most of the staff with them, it was the perfect opportunity to go now.

“It’s safer if you try to avoid any sort of confrontation with them.” Changbin doesn't look at him, but Seungmin can see his knuckles turning white as he clenches his hands into fists. With a soft sigh, he slides off the bed and walks over to Changbin, gently grasping his hands and unclenching them so he can slide his own hands into them.

“Sorry.” Changbin mumbles, his eyes trained on his shoes. “I’m still getting used to the physical connection.”

“I… have questions about that but that’s for later.” Seungmin mutters, almost to himself, (Changbin manages a tiny smile) before he inhales and squeezes Changbin’s hands. “for now, just… try to breathe. Technically, I’ll still be with you, and I’ll try to keep you updated on my expedition through the castle.”

“Thank you.” Changbin whispers. He squeezes Seungmin’s hands once, the light between them brightening only for a second, before Changbin is pulling back. “I’ll see you soon.” He looks like he wants to say something more but decides against it and turns on his heel, disappearing through the doors. 

Seungmin exhales, staring at his hands for a moment before walking over to the wardrobe to find something less inconspicuous to wear. Only when he’s positive that he won’t stand out, he slips out of the bedroom, checks both ends of the hall, and then hurries in the opposite direction of the dining hall. 

When he turns the corner and finds the stairs, a hand lands on his shoulder. With a start, he whips around as his hand alights with fire, his fight or flight instincts kicking in. Just as he’s raising his hand to blast whoever grabbed him, he’s met with Jeongin’s shocked face. 

Honestly, he’s just as shocked. Typical, that as soon as he feels like he’s in danger, he’s able to summon the fire again. 

“Jeez, you really need to calm down.” His friend mutters, carefully reaching up to lower his hand. “I was bringing you dinner and saw you sneak off, so I’m here to help.”

“Shouldn't you be in the dining hall?” Seungmin asks, glancing around the corridor to make sure they're still alone.

“They won’t miss me, and Hyunjin’s in there keeping an eye on Changbin. Don’t worry.” Jeongin reassures before grabbing Seungmin’s hand and dragging him to the stairs. Seungmin wants to say that he’s more worried about Hyunjin, but the words die on his tongue. He’s worried about both of them, really, but Changbin is his main concern considering his position with the king currently.

_The king is suspicious of Hyunjin._ Seungmin suddenly hears in his head, and he doesn't even have to wonder who it is.

_Distract him._ Is all he says back before Jeongin is speaking.

“Every castle has its secrets,” Jeongin begins, dragging his hand along the wall. They were in the lower levels now, the only light coming from the torches lining the walls and the air damp. Seungmin didn’t like it. “You just have to know where to look.”

(Somewhere in the back of his mind, Seungmin can only think _“This feels ridiculous”._ Jeongin being so quick to accept his new reality is definitely something that Seungmin is going to have to get used to. 

At least, he hopes he can.)

Seungmin shakes his paranoia off and pulls away from Jeongin, trailing ahead of his friend a little. “What should we be looking for?”

“Anything out of the ordinary. There might be a… a secret lever, a hidden door. If we’re trying to find something secret, it’s not going to be out in the open, where it’s obvious.” Jeongin explains. “At least, not always. We should still keep our options open, however.”

“You watch too many mysteries.” Seungmin mutters under his breath, and then he stops in front of a very dusty bookshelf, scanning over the spines of the books. “Changbin has told me nothing about this king, though. I don’t even know _what_ we’re supposed to be finding. I don’t even know what his name is or what he looks like.”

“His name is King Seo Chunghee.” Jeongin replies. When Seungmin looks at him in confusion he just shrugs. “I asked around.”

“What would I ever do without you?” Seungmin sighs, looking over his shoulder at his friend.

“Probably crash and burn.” Jeongin retorts. “You’re pretty dense sometimes, for someone so smart.”

“Gee, thanks, Jeongin.” He replies flatly, but still smiles when Jeongin laughs to himself. He looks away and walks across the hall, stopping in front of a portrait on the wall of a man dressed in gleaming armor, a blue cape hanging from one shoulder. Weirdly enough, the way he held himself reminded Seungmin of Changbin. Then it dawns on him that the man in the painting must be the king, and the thought sends a shiver down his spine as he meets the painting’s eyes. It feels like they're staring straight through him.

“Min?” Jeongin’s voice draws his attention. He glances at his friend as he comes to a stop next to him and they both look at the painting. “Well, I guess you know what he looks like now.”

“I feel like I’ve seen him in a dream before.” Seungmin whispers. “He feels too familiar.”

Jeongin doesn't respond, but Seungmin doesn't really blame him. He doesn't even know what to say, honestly. After another moment, he just sighs and shakes his head, turning away from the portrait. “Maybe we should start with researching the king.” 

“You mean we have to read?” Jeongin groans. “I did that enough at uni, can I take a break?”

Seungmin snorts and grabs his friend’s hand. “I’ll ask Changbin to bring me some books from the library and I’ll do my research during the day.” He decides as he leads Jeongin out of the corridor and back towards the stairs. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable being underground like this.

“Thank god.” Jeongin mutters, sticking close to Seungmin’s side.

They’re quiet as they make their way back to the room, taking their time. Seungmin scans the walls, curiously staring at paintings as he passes them. A lot of them depict very dark scenes, but none give off any energies. The only thing he feels is chills down his spine at the particularly dark ones, like a ship drowning, a skeleton captain at its wheel, or an angel driving a sword through a demon’s heart.

He really doesn’t like the castle.

“Hey Seungmin?” Jeongin pipes up after a while. They’re on the staircase that leads up to the hall where Changbin’s room is located. Seungmin hums, letting Jeongin know he’s listening. “What comes after all of this?”

Seungmin stops. Jeongin stops as well, one step above Seungmin, a confused frown on his face as Seungmin stares at his boots thoughtfully. He hadn’t thought that far ahead, in truth. “Well,” He starts, slowly, as though unsure. “I guess… we go home?”

“Just like that?” Jeongin asks.

Seungmin doesn’t know why he hesitates to answer. He should say _yes, just like that,_ but the thought of leaving right after they win — if they win — just seems… wrong. He owes it to everyone to see things through, right? To make sure the world recovers afterwards. They’ll have to find someone new to run things afterwards, fix whatever damage the king has done. 

“No.” He shakes his head. “I mean, I _want_ to – go home, that is, but… it just feels wrong. The idea of just leaving everything behind like that.” 

“I mean, we could still come back.” Jeongin steps down to stand next to him, grabbing his hand. “If we go back home, it's not like we’re leaving this all behind forever.”

Seungmin sighs, squeezing his friend's hand. “Time moves differently here, Jeongin. If we went back, it might as well be forever.”

Jeongin frowns, but doesn’t say anything else. Seungmin doesn't either, because what _is_ there to say?

After Seungmin tells Jeongin goodnight and parts ways with him at the bedroom doors, he enters to find Changbin standing on the balcony. The moon is illuminating his front, leaving him a silhouette against the night sky. He walks over to him and leans against the railing, staring out at the stars.

“Hyunjin is fine, by the way.” Changbin says, his voice quiet.

“Good.” Seungmin nods. “Are you?”

Changbin doesn't answer verbally, instead he just provides a shrug in response. Seungmin wants to pry, but he decides against it. If Changbin wanted him to know, he would by now. Instead, he just stands up straight. “To know what I’m supposed to be looking for, I need to do some research on the king, to learn more about him. Right now, I’m searching for a needle in a haystack, except I don’t even know what the needle looks like.”

“Okay. I’ll bring you some books in the morning.” Changbin mutters. His tone is flat, and when Seungmin finally looks at him, he realizes just how exhausted and worn out he looks.

“...I’ll ask Hyunjin to bring me some.” Seungmin sighs. “You need to rest.”

“Can’t.” Changbin scowls. “Need to make sure no one finds you.”

“I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe. You’re going to end up burning yourself out if you don’t rest.” Seungmin shoots back, his voice firm.

Changbin opens his mouth to argue back, but then clamps his jaw set when he decides against it. With a defeated huff he just nods and turns away, disappearing into the bathroom and locking the door. 

Seungmin stares at the door, frowning to himself. This Changbin was so different from the man he first met, or even the confident and regal figure he saw earlier today. Part of him wanted to wrap Changbin in a hug and tell him everything would be okay, while another part of him just wanted to drop all of this and get Changbin and his friends out of here. 

He did neither of those, though, and just crawled into the bed, snuggling into the sheets and blankets. It doesn’t take long for his exhaustion to catch up with him and pull him under.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin is sitting by the small fireplace in the room that he had discovered a couple days prior when he was especially bored. He was looking for any secret buttons or anything of the sort built into the wall when he found it, built into the wall and hidden behind an old tapestry. He’s been utilizing it as a way to pass the time when he wasn't reading the books Hyunjin brought, trying to bend the flames and create shapes with them in hopes of somehow better honing his magic. It was working, somewhat, but it was stressful. He still couldn’t properly summon the fire _in_ his hands, but, baby steps.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Changbin’s voice catches his attention when he pokes his head in the door and sees Seungmin sitting in the velvet chair, legs drawn up and hair mussed. It must be near midnight by now.

“Yeah,” Seungmin nods, gesturing towards the fireplace. “Lost track of time.”

Changbin glances towards the bed momentarily, and then crosses the room to sit next to Seungmin on the floor. “Show me.”

“Hmm?”

“Show me what you’ve been doing.” He clarifies, nodding towards the fire.

“Oh, um,” Seungmin frowns, sitting up a little straighter in the chair. “Okay.” He murmurs and closes his eyes, inhaling slowly and releasing the breath in a drawn out exhale as he opens his eyes and focuses on the fire. He watches the flame dance across the logs, little fire cats and dogs hopping out of the flames to play around on the soot and charcoal at the bottom of the pit. Seungmin smiles just slightly, despite the painful aching in his chest from over-exerting himself too much.

“Looks pretty, Seungmin.” Changbin murmurs as he leans against the armrest of the chair, watching the fire animals dance around. 

Seungmin looks down at him, tilting his head slightly before reaching over to carefully run his fingers through Changbin’s hair. The man’s eyelashes flutter against his cheeks, his tense shoulders slowly relaxing. Seungmin exhales and looks back at the fire. “Thanks.”

They fall into a comfortable silence after that, their gazes fixed on the fire warming their skin. Seungmin kept his hand in Changbin’s hair, gently brushing it out with his fingers and scratching lightly at his scalp. 

“Hey, Changbin?” Seungmin asks after a moment, wondering if his friend had fallen asleep. Changbin hums to let him know he’s awake. “How come you can hear my thoughts but I can’t hear yours?”

The man pulls away from his hand, looking up at him curiously. “You can’t?” Seungmin shakes his head. “It might be because I’ve trained myself to lock things up in here out of habit.”

“Oh.” Seungmin mumbles, looking down at his lap. “How do I do that? Locking things up in here, I mean.” he gestures to his head.

“Ah,” Changbin chuckles a little and stands up. He grabs the little table and pulls it around to sit on it in front of Seungmin. The heat from the fire disappears just slightly when Changbin blocks it, but Seungmin doesn’t mind.

Changbin smiles and cups Seungmin's cheeks, taking a deep breath as he did. “Minho taught me this trick a while ago. Breath in for me,” He instructs and Seungmin does so. “And exhale… now, imagine putting up a high wall around your thoughts. It can be anything you want it to be, stone, thorns, fog, whatever works for you.”

Seungmin takes a couple deep breaths before focusing on imagining a giant wall of thorns around his thoughts as Changbin had explained. It was a lot harder than it seemed, and he isn’t even sure if it’s working.

“It takes some work.” Changbin reassures, rubbing gentle circles into his cheeks. “Keep at it, okay? It’ll be useful for the future.”

“Okay.” Seungmin nods.

Changbin slips off the table and moves it back to its original spot, settling in front of Seungmin on the floor afterwards. Seungmin glances at him and lets his legs slip off the chair, gently patting his thigh. Changbin looks up at him, smiles, and leans against his leg.

“I’ll try letting you in more, until then.” Changbin murmurs, turning his attention to the fire now.

Seungmin looks down at him, just barely able to make out the curve of his nose and the shadow of his lashes against his cheeks. He smiles and reaches down, running his fingers through Changbin’s hair gently. 

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“One delivery of history books!” 

Seungmin looks up from where he laid on the bedroom floor, his chest heaving. The balcony doors were wide open, a cool breeze blowing into the room and ruffling Seungmin sweaty hair.

“Why do you look like you just ran a marathon?” Hyunjin asks as he drops the books in the velvet chair, an eyebrow raised.

“I’ve been trying to get my magic to work properly.” Seungmin mutters. He raises a hand and focuses again, straining. Nothing comes from it except a few little sparks, and his arm already aches as he drops it to his side.

Hyunjin stares at him, head tilted. He looks thoughtful as he walks over to Seungmin and grabs his arms, pulling him into a sitting position before settling in front of him. “How are you trying to do it?”

Seungmin’s brow furrows as he holds his hands out towards Hyunjin. “I don’t know how to explain it! It’s _magic,_ Hyunjin.”

His friend just laughs and grabs his hands, rubbing his thumbs into his palms gently. “Are you forcing it?”

“What?” Seungmin huffs. “No, I’m not forcing it.”

Hyunjin raises an eyebrow, a small, knowing smirk on his face.

Seungmin hesitates, looks away, and then frowns. “I don’t know, honestly. The only times I’ve gotten it to work is in defense, when I was scared or startled.”

Hyunjin hums, but doesn’t answer past that. Seungmin spares a quick glance at him, finding his friend to be staring at his hands thoughtfully. He opens his mouth to say something else, but then Hyunjin tugs him to his feet and over to the door. “Follow me.” 

“Wh- I can’t leave the room, though!” Seungmin hisses, tugging his hands out of Hyunjin’s grasp.

“Changbin and the king have been in the war room since dawn, the queen is out in the city, and the guards are basically useless.” Hyunjin says, grinning. “We’ll be fine for one day. Besides, we’re just going to the roof.”

“The-The roof?!” Seungmin exclaims as Hyunjin grabs his hand again and leads him out of the room. They run down the hall, Hyunjin laughing to himself as Seungmin’s eyes dart around nervously. He’s beyond terrified of getting caught.

The bump into Jeongin on the way there and their friend drops whatever he was doing to join them, and soon they're climbing the rickety old steps in the top most tower of the castle. Hyunjin throws open the old wooden door whose hinges squeak horrendously, and then they're met with a cool breeze and a breathtaking view. Seungmin gasps, absolutely blown away by it all. 

The mainland touches the ocean in the distance, and the horizon seems to stretch on forever. He stumbles forward a little, hands coming in contact with the old but sturdy stone wall that keeps them from falling right off the ledge. The wind whips at his hair and tugs at his clothes, but he ignores it in favor of watching the sun set slowly, the blue sky slowly turning pink.

Jeongin and Hyunjin stand on either side of them, soft smiles on their faces. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Hyunjin says, his voice almost lost to the wind. Seungmin nods in unison with Jeongin. Hyunjin chuckles and leans against the wall. “It’s amazing, the way everything works together.”

Seungmin glances at him in confusion, head tilted. Hyunjin glances at him out of the corner of his eyes before pointing towards the sky. Seungmin follows his finger, spotting a flock of birds flying high above the castle. “Nature works together, everything doing its role to keep things moving smoothly.” Hyunjin gestures to the rest of the land before poking Seungmin’s shoulder. “I have a feeling it's similar for magic.”

“Oh my god,” Seungmin rolls his eyes. “You brought me up here to lecture me.”

His friends both laugh, and Seungmin can’t help a tiny smile as Hyunjin grabs his hand. “Take this with a grain of salt, but maybe you should try working _with_ your magic, instead forcing it.”

“Take what he says with an extra tiny grain of salt,” Jeongin interrupts, holding up his hand with his thumb and index finger barely touching. “Afterall, what does he know about magic, right?”

“Shut up!” Hyunjin barks, but he’s fighting a smile. 

Seungmin scoffs. “You're both so annoying.”

“You love us, though.” Jeongin lightly punches his shoulder, a soft smile on his face.

“Unfortunately.”

Hyunjin clicks his tongue and ruffles Seungmin’s hair before pulling him close. “I did bring you up here to give you some advice, but I also wanted to watch the stars come out together.”

“You think we could touch them from here?” Jeongin asks, gaze sliding to the sky. He stands up on his toes, stretching a hand up high, finger extended. 

Seungmin looks up as well. The sky had gone from pink to a deep red, and the beginning of darkness was peeking through, the first sign of dusk breaking through day. “Maybe if we try hard enough.”

A silence falls over them as they watch the sunset, watches as it sets the ocean on fire and disappears below the horizon. Seungmin wonders what's at the edge of the world, if it just drops off or goes on forever. He decides that someday, maybe he’ll venture out there and find out for himself.

The three of them stay there for what seems like eternity, making up their own constellations from the stars as more begin to show. Eventually, Hyunjin regretfully suggests they head back before dinner ends so Seungmin can return to the room safely, and they make it back unseen.

“Thank you for showing me the stars, Hyunjin.” Seungmin says as he hugs his friends goodnight. Jeongin squeezes extra tight and Hyunjin ruffles his hair before they finally turn away and head back to the servant quarters.

Changbin is already asleep in the bed when Seungmin quietly pushes his way into the room. He stares at the sleeping figure, with the blankets pushed back on one side of the bed, leaving the mattress exposed. Belatedly, Seungmin realizes that Changbin left it like that on purpose, and he wonders if his friend had waited for him.

He glances over his shoulder at the books and decides to start on them in the morning, and peels his boots off, tossing them to the side with his vest. As carefully as possible, he crawls into bed next to Changbin, pulling the blankets up to his chin and rolling over on his side to look at the man sleeping peacefully next to him. 

“Goodnight.” Seungmin whispers, and he’s almost tempted to reach out and brush Changbin’s bangs back, but decides against it and closes his eyes; letting sleep pull him under.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Three weeks pass and Seungmin is still stuck at square one.

Weirdly (suspiciously) enough, anything on the king has either been burnt or disappeared under other mysterious circumstances. He’s only been able to leave the room a couple of times since that night with Jeongin, and turned up with little to nothing to show for it. The only thing he had found that could be of any sort of use had been the name of the man’s sword – at least, that’s what he assumed. The thing is, it was in a completely different language, one that even Seungmin didn’t recognize. 

He was starting to get frustrated.

Changbin hadn’t been of much help either, but Seungmin couldn’t really blame him. It wasn’t often that he saw the man during the day, because the king insisted that he needed to start “learning how to be a prince” or something like that. Seungmin wasn’t really sure, but all he knew was that Changbin always came back after the moon was high, exhausted and drained, and he didn’t say much. Seungmin just let him be most of the time.

Though there were nights when Changbin would shyly ask if Seungmin could hold him while he fell asleep, and those were nights they would stay up until dawn broke the horizon, chatting softly about anything and everything. 

“Haven’t you read that book already?” Hyunjin asks as he enters the bedroom, a tray holding a teapot and two teacups in his hands.

Seungmin doesn’t look up from the book in his hand. It was an autobiography by some court musician, but they had written an entire chapter on secrets they had heard from their time in the castle. Near the end of the chapter, right before it talks about the king’s many conquests in battle, the pages are torn out, the only evidence that they were ever there being the torn shreds of paper still stuck to the spine, but they were useless. 

“Yes, he has, but he insists that he might find something he missed last time.” Changbin answers for Seungmin. He set his own book down on the table next to the velvet chair. Today is a day that Changbin has off from princely duties — which have been rare days so far —, and Seungmin was secretly grateful for the man’s presence.

“Which has been useless, as always.” Seungmin mutters. He slams the book shut and just drops it on the floor next to the bed, resulting in a loud _thump!_ and a spiral of dust swirls up. “Any record that this guy even has a past is wiped clean from any history book. I can’t find _anything._ ”

“So maybe it’s time to try a different approach.” Hyunjin suggests, walking over to the bed and flopping onto it. “Try searching around again.”

“I really hate the lower levels.” Seungmin groans, falling back against the pillows. 

Changbin stands from his chair and walks over to the bed to sit on the other side of Seungmin. “I’ll come with you this time.” 

“Changbin...” Seungmin hesitates, he stares up at his friend, a small pout on his lips. 

“It’s fine, Seungminnie.” Changbin looks at his lap instead of Seungmin. “I want to help.”

_I can’t be here any longer._ Seungmin hears, loud and clear, in his head. He isn’t sure if Changbin meant for him to hear that, or if he did it on purpose so Hyunjin couldn’t hear. Still, he reaches over and grabs Changbin’s hand, earning a small smile from the man that causes his stomach to flip. He hears Hyunjin not-so-subtlety stifle a surprised sound. 

“Okay. Tonight, you and I will go back downstairs and see what we can find.” Seungmin promises.

“Boring. I’m the only one who hasn’t done anything since we got here.” Hyunjin whines and he curls up against Seungmin’s side, pressing his face into his friend’s neck. Seungmin just rolls his eyes as he wraps an arm around the taller boy. 

the bed shifts next to him as Changbin crawls further up onto the bed, only to drop himself on top of Hyunjin. Hyunjin squeals in shock, his hand curling in Seungmin’s shirt as he wheezes and Changbin laughs, smooshing his cheek against Hyunjin’s. “Hyunjinnie, are you jealous?”

“Shut it!” Hyunjin manages to say. He pushes Changbin off and rolls onto his back, using the leverage to push Changbin off the bed entirely. “You’re so heavy! Don’t do that again.”

“That’s all muscle, baby!” Changbin sings from the floor. Seungmin just laughs to himself, tugging Hyunjin back down into his arms. He knew his friend would have to leave soon, but he just wants to hold him a little longer before he’s alone with Changbin again.

The thing is, he didn’t exactly _mind_ being alone with Changbin. The man was pleasant company when he was in a good mood, quick to match Seungmin’s sass and hot-headedness with his somewhat-tamer personality. Seungmin liked that about him, because most people would get annoyed with him or would avoid him altogether because of that, but not Changbin.

But sometimes, moments alone with Changbin, felt different. He’s not sure what to make of it, since they don’t _talk_ much, aside from Seungmin distracting Changbin long enough to help him fall asleep some nights, or a couple words exchanged in the mornings if they were both awake for it. He really isn’t sure what to make of this Changbin, honestly, but he vows that he would try harder to get to a point where he could open up, and maybe Changbin would too.

With a soft sigh, he just watches Changbin stand up and brush himself off. The man gives him a small, amused smile, before he returns to the velvet chair and picks his book back up. Sitting there in the afternoon sun, wearing a simple gold and blue vest on top of his white undershirt, his black hair falling into his eyes, he truly is beautiful, in his unique sort of way. Seungmin looks away when he feels a heat creep up his neck, and he misses the way Changbin peeks over his book at him.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin is half-asleep when Changbin finally returns from his dinner with the king. He’s stuck in the half-asleep, half-awake state where he’s vaguely aware of his surroundings, but he’s not properly registering anything going on. Images of obsidian-clad riders and ice blue eyes flash across his eyelids, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows he’s probably squirming in the bed, unable to shake away the nightmare-ish images, but unable to wake himself up on his own.

“ _Seungmin._ ” 

A red-eyed king, sword raised, ready to kill.

“ _Seungmin, wake up.”_

A shadow warping into a giant dog, fangs bared, poised to attack.

_“Seungmin!”_

He shoots up with a gasp, sheets fisted tightly. He stares at the blanket tangled around his legs as he tries to catch his breath. He can feel himself trembling, the fear of his pseudo-dreams still lingering on his skin like a poisonous goop, stinging him deep and making him feel trapped. A gentle and hesitant hand rests on his shoulder and he jumps, whipping around with a start, expecting another nightmare, but he’s just met with Changbin’s kind eyes and sharp edges. 

“Are you okay?” He asks softly, his hand coming up to wipe a bead of sweat off of Seungmin’s cheek.

Seungmin stares at him, eyes still wide and body still trembling, but all he can really focus on is Changbin. When he nods, weak and a little unsure, Changbin just frowns. “Are you sure you still want to go searching for stuff tonight?”

Oh, right. Seungmin had almost forgotten about that. Slowly, he nods again. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible.” He manages to say, but his own voice sounds a little foreign.

Changbin hesitates a moment longer, and then he just sighs. “Maybe you should wash up first, okay? A bath always helps me after a nightmare.”

_It wasn’t a nightmare,_ He wants to say, but he knows it’s pointless. Changbin already knows. So he nods instead, still not trusting his voice entirely, and lets Changbin help him off the bed. He stumbles a little on the way to the bathroom, but manages to slip inside and peel off his sweat-drenched clothes. There’s already a bath drawn, but when Seungmin steps into it, the water is cool. He frowns and sinks down until only the tops of his knees and the top half of his face is above the water.

Then a thought occurs to him. He sits up, water sloshing around him, and lets his hands float on top of the water, trying to focus all of his energy into his palms. He remembers the day at the inn, when he had been terrified enough to catch the ground around him on fire, and he tries to go back to that place, to harness that energy again. He squeezes his eyes shut, everything else around him fading into white noise in the background. He can feel the vibrations again, hear the deafening rumble. Panic settles like a sharp thorn in his lungs.

The water around him suddenly warms and his eyes fly open with a gasp. He stares at the small flames dancing in his palms. For a moment, he feels a small bud of pride bloom in his chest, and soon the warmth spreads through his chest. He hadn’t been able to summon any of his abilities for the past couple weeks, for unknown reasons, and maybe this was a good sign.

_Does this count as working with the magic, though?_ Says a nagging thought at the back of his mind. With a scowl, he pushes it away, electing to bounce the flame back and forth between his hands instead. 

_Proud of you._ Changbin’s voice rings loud and clear in his head, as though he’s sitting right next to him.

_Privacy, Bin._ He thinks back, but he can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. _But thank you._

_You and I don’t get much privacy, what with the whole, “hearing each other’s thoughts” thing._ Changbin teases. Even though the words are more like thoughts in his mind, Seungmin can clearly hear Changbin’s teasing lilt. That has him smiling even more as he sinks back into the water. He blames the heat rising up his neck on the rapidly warming bath water.

_Yeah, yeah. At least try to stay out of my head long enough so I can finish my bath._ He shot back, and was met with silence after that.

For a moment, he lets himself imagine that maybe Changbin is sitting on the other side of the door, smiling just as widely, before he shakes the image off and composes himself. He can’t let himself dwell on those thoughts. 

  
  
  
  


After Seungmin finally does finish his bath, an hour having passed, he and Changbin wander down to the lower levels of the castle. Seungmin had suggested Changbin teleport them, but the man shook his head. 

“Too risky. At least this way we can hide if we need to.” He had said, and that was enough for Seungmin. They left the room, hand in hand, and Seungmin used a small flame in the palm of his hand to light the way.

“Jeongin had said we should be looking for anything that might look like a lever, or a hidden door.” Seungmin explains as they walk down the hall with the painting of the king. Seungmin tries to ignore the feeling of being watched, and judging by the way Changbin’s hand tightens around his own, he figures that Changbin feels the same.

“He watches too many mysteries.” Changbin laughs.

The corners of Seungmin’s lips twitch into a smile. “Yeah, he does.” He mumbles, despite the nagging thought that he had said the exact same thing when he was exploring with Jeongin. “Anyways, you’ve spent more time here. Has the king said anything that might… be of use?”

Changbin doesn't respond. He’s staring at something off to the side, eyes narrowed. Seungmin pauses, following his gaze, and then he sees it. On a mounted head of a boar, he notices that one of the tusks is a little off-colored, and much too clean compared to the rest of the head. With a snort, he detaches from Changbin’s side and approaches the boar head, inspecting the tusk. Sure enough, when he lifts his hand and the flame in it to illuminate the object, he can see the gap between the skin of the snout and the bone, revealing bits of shiny mechanisms.

“Not very inconspicuous, don’t you think?” Seungmin jokes, reaching up to run his fingers along the tusk. “Super cliché, too. Maybe the king is from Earth.” He glances at Changbin, barely catching the worried expression on his face. With a sigh, he looks back at the boar head and wraps his hand around the tusk to pull the lever. “What a plot twist that would be.”

“Be careful.” Changbin says from behind him.

Seungmin glances back at him, meeting Changbin’s cautious eyes. He just looks at the tusk again before closing his eyes to see if he could sense anything that might equate to danger. When he feels nothing but stale air and the constant, quiet buzzing of being so near to Changbin and his energy, he decides it’s safe enough. 

When he pulls down on the lever, he hears Changbin inhale, and it isn't until he’s heard the click of the mechanisms inside the boar head and the muffled whirring of gears springing into life inside the wall that Changbin finally releases the breath he was holding. 

Seungmin backs up to stand next to Changbin again and Changbin’s hand immediately finds his (he wonders if that’s his way of comforting himself or both of them, or if it just makes it easier for them to get away if they got into trouble) and they watch a small gap in the wall open up, big enough for a singular person to pass through at a time. 

“Well, into the belly of the beast?” Changbin asks, his voice wavering just slightly. 

Seungmin can tell he’s nervous, but all he can feel is his own excitement and curiosity. So, he nods, and squeezes Changbin’s hand as they approach the gap. Seungmin allows the shorter man to squeeze through first, and then follows with one last glance at their surroundings. When he emerges on the other side, he’s bathed in darkness. The only tell that Changbin is still nearby is the familiar buzzing in his veins and the nervous energy pouring off the man in waves.

“Seungmin, we need some light.” Changbin’s voice pops up next to his ear. 

Seungmin jumps, not expecting him to be that close, before he calms his heart and holds his hand out. Flames burst from his palm, immediately casting their surroundings in an orange glow. It becomes obvious that they're in another corridor, though this one is smaller and damper, and more claustrophobic. He hears the wall slide closed behind him and with a scowl, he heads further into the room. No turning back now.

They walk in silence, their hands brushing every now and then. Changbin is uncharacteristically tense, even more so than he is when he comes back to the room after dinner. Seungmin wants to comfort him somehow, but he isn't sure what to say, and honestly, he’s just as on edge. The longer the corridor drags on, the more claustrophobic he begins to feel. He doesn't like it.

Just when he’s about to suggest they turn back before he ends up blasting a hole in the wall, they finally come across an old, wooden door with a strange symbol carved into its surface. When Seungmin reaches up to trace his fingers over it, images of blood, the smell of burning skin, and too much fire flash across his mind. He stumbles backwards, trips over nothing, and falls back on his ass with a quiet _“oof”._ The fire in his palm disappears without his focus to keep it alight.

He feels Changbin kneel down next to him, a hand landing on his shoulder gently. “You okay?”

“Did you see that?” He asks as he holds his hand up again, focusing his energy once more to light the flame. He looks up and realizes that Changbin is a lot closer than before, their faces merely inches apart. With a start, he jerks back and ignores the flush crawling up his neck.

“See what?” The man asks instead, looking back at the door over his shoulder. “The weird symbol?”

“No- the… they felt like… like memories.” Seungmin grabs the side of his head, the images still burnt into his brain. “They were memories, just not mine.”

“What did you see?” Changbin sounds confused as he stands and holds a hand out for Seungmin to take. Seungmin doesn't blame him, since it was something that Changbin should’ve seen as well.

“It was more like a feeling… I could feel fire, hotter than mine, and I could smell blood a-and bodies burning.” He can feel panic rising. “It was horrible. It was like I was there but I was blind, stumbling around with no real bearings. I think I was dying.” He can feel his hands trembling, the flame in his palm flickering with his struggle to keep it lit.

“Okay, take a deep breath.” Changbin soothes, kneeling to his level again and brushing his hair back. Seungmin glances up from the flame to meet the older’s eyes, and is met with a soft and reassuring smile. Changbin takes a deep breath, motioning for Seungmin to copy him, and he does. “You’re not dying, right? You’re here with me.”

Seungmin nods. Already, he can feel himself calming down. Changbin nods as well, gently patting his cheek. “Okay, we’re okay. Are you ready to continue or should we go back?”

Seungmin scowls and waves him off, turning back to the door. “I’m fine. Let’s just figure out what’s in there.”

He reaches out to open the door, despite the odd tingling in his fingers the closer he gets to the metal ring. Changbin grabs his wrist before he can touch the door. “Maybe I should open it.”

Seungmin pauses, only then realizing the bottom of the ring was red-hot and he could see the heat waves coming from his hand. He nods and drops his arm to his side as he frowns. He can still feel the tingle of the heat in his fingertips, but he tries to ignore it as Changbin carefully opens the door. The room inside is as dark and damp as the corridor, and Seungmin feels a chill crawl down his spine as he and Changbin step inside. 

“It’s so dark.” Changbin whispers.

Seungmin glances in his general direction and then at the flame in his palm. He tilts his head, pulling it closer to his chest and gently holding it between both of his hands. He focuses, eyes closed, and then releases the energy he built. The flames fizzle out into little sparks of light that illuminate the room as they bounce around. They almost resemble fireflies, and the sight warms Seungmin’s chest.

“Huh.” Changbin hums, staring at the lights for a moment, and then he walks off to the side. “These statues look… hauntingly realistic.”

Seungmin gives the room a onceover, spotting a small set of bookshelves against one wall and on another is a tapestry that gives Seungmin a weird feeling deep in his chest. He decides to come back to that later, and walks over to Changbin to look at the statues. His companion is staring at one in particular, eyes narrowed.

“He looks familiar.” Changbin mumbles, but it’s more to himself than anything. Seungmin barely spares the statue a glance, something about the vivid details rubbing him the wrong way. He walks over to a book laying open on the floor in the corner, kneeling next to it and tenderly turning the pages. The first chunk of the notebook has entries scrawled into it in a language Seungmin doesn't know. The more he flips through it, the more his chest tightens. _‘King’_ is scrawled across some pages, messy and uncoordinated, like someone was in a rush. 

When Seungmin reaches a page with _‘Chosen One’_ written in big letters, drawn over more than once, the charcoal smeared across the paper, a lump forms in his throat. The panic doesn’t really settle in until he flips the page, and his own name is written over and over and over, on every page following that. He falls backwards, and is vaguely aware of the lights around him dimming, but he can’t bring himself to do anything about it. 

“Seungmin?” Changbin’s voice is distant. “Seungmin, hey, look at me.” He can barely feel the man’s hand on his shoulder. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’s aware that the lights have gone out completely, but he can’t focus on anything except the blood roaring in his ears and his lungs struggling to breathe, and he's pretty sure he blacked out for a moment.

“ _Seungmin!”_ Changbin’s tone is sharper that time, and he jumps. Slowly, he blinks as his senses come back one at a time, and he meets Changbin’s eyes in the dark. “Are you okay?”

“Um… I think.” Seungmin swallows the lump in his throat and nods, ignoring the trembling in his hands. How much time passed? A few seconds? Minutes? He doesn't know.

“I think we should go back.” Changbin sighs, but Seungmin grabs his arm to stop him.

“No, no. I’m not done.” He shakes his head. When he’s sure that Changbin isn’t going to blip them out anyways, he lets go of his arm and holds his hands out in front of himself, allowing the flames to burst in his palms and spread throughout the room again. 

“Grab that journal.” He mutters, pointing to the book with his name scrawled across it. Changbin looks over his shoulder, and Seungmin can see the confusion cross his face when he sees it, but he grabs it anyway. Seungmin exhales and stands up, walking over to the books and the wall with the tapestry instead. 

“Bin, c’mere.” He calls softly, standing in front of the tapestry. 

Changbin hurries over to his side, and Seungmin can feel his hand brush against his own. With a relieved sigh at the physical reassurance that Changbin is there, he focuses most of the light in the room to illuminate the tapestry. He makes sense of some of it, recognizing the scenes from some of the history books he had read over the years. Graphic depictions of the king standing above piles of bones and bodies, a glowing red crown on his head, were woven together with fine threads, bringing to life the murders of other jumpers, innocents, his people. 

_His people._

The sight makes him feel sick, and the memories he had seen when he touched the door fight to push their way to the forefront of his mind again. He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes the memories off, stumbling over to some of the books instead. 

“Seungmin, there’s people coming.” Changbin warns. 

Seungmin blindly picks up as many books as he can just as Changbin lunges at him, blipping them both back to his room. The second he feels solid ground beneath his feet, he collapses to his knees as a sudden sob rips through him. The books fall into a messy pile in front of him, some of them falling open to pages upon pages of brutal history. He cries for the lives lost, even as Changbin kneels next to him and pulls him against his chest.

“So many, Changbin.” He rasps. “So many have died because of evil people. How many more of us are going to have to suffer?”

Changbin doesn’t answer. Seungmin can feel him trembling, and he knows that the man is trying his best to keep himself together. He presses his face into the man’s chest, his hand fisting the fabric of his shirt tight enough to turn his knuckles white as tears soak through his vest. He vows to himself that he would do what he could to protect the ones that are still living. No one else would be dying if he could help it.

They stay like that, crying quietly in each other’s arms as the sun slowly rises, bathing them in a golden glow. Seungmin falls asleep shortly after, unaware of Changbin carrying him to the bed and disappearing through the doors, jaw set and fists clenched.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  


The forest is quiet as Seungmin pushes through the underbrush. He hears the leaves crunching underfoot, feels the vines brush against his arms. He stops when he comes to a road, the dirt worn and pressed from years of use.

Then it starts to rumble. He gasps, watching the vines from the trees wrap around his legs, rooting him to the stop. He tries to move, to free himself, but he can’t. Panic rises in his throat, choking him, as he claws at the vines desperately.

He hears a loud roar. His head shoots up, and he sees a dragon swooping down at him, maw open wide to swallow him up. With a silent scream, he throws his arms up to brace for impact, but it never comes. He almost thinks he’s okay, but then he’s thrown sideways, and ends up on a grassy plain.

Fire burns all around him, hot enough to singe his clothes if he gets too close. He can’t see very well, his vision fuzzy and swimming. Slowly, he pushes himself up, and feels something oozing from his stomach. When he looks down, he sees a giant, dark red stain forming on the front of the night gown he wore. Tenderly, he holds his hand against the wound in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

Screams echo around him, distant and warped, and he barely notices the bodies whisking past him, blurred silhouettes whispering incoherent sentences to him.

He stumbles to the side, free hand flailing in front of him for any sort of purchase, and then he feels it. Hot, smooth, and scaly. He blinks a couple of times as his vision comes back, and he realizes that he’s face to face with the dragon from before.

_“Hello,”_ He hears a voice, deep and rumbling. The dragon huffs, smoking rolling out of its nostrils. Seungmin can’t form a proper response. _“You are weak.”_

_I’m trying._ He thinks. He clenches his hand, his nails digging into the dragon’s skin. Golden blood oozes from the dents he leaves behind, but the beast doesn’t seem to notice. 

_“Fear is used to control you.”_ The dragon says, and then it rises to its full height. Seungmin thinks he should be scared, but he’s not. _“You will be able to save all of them, should you succeed in controlling it, instead.”_

He opens his mouth to respond, but then his vision goes black, and he falls into darkness.

_“He sleeps so deeply.”_

_“It’s kind of endearing.”_

_“And a pain in the ass when he has class in the mornings.”_

With a groan, Seungmin rubs his face and pushes himself up. The voices fall quiet as he stretches, yawning, and then he sees Changbin and Hyunjin sitting on the edge of the bed, matching smirks on their faces.

“What?” He huffs, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.

“Nothing,” Changbin muses, his smirk only growing. 

Hyunjin snickers, grabbing a warm cup of… something, from the nightstand next to the bed and hands it to Seungmin. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

“I hate that you two have become friends.” Seungmin mutters. He takes a sip of the drink, discovering its coffee, and immediately takes a bigger gulp.

Hyunjin sits back next to Changbin. “Told you he’d like it.”

Changbin rolls his eyes and slides off the bed, opening the wardrobe to get some day clothes for Seungmin. “You and I are gonna go train.”

Seungmin looks at Hyunjin, blinking a couple times, and his friends just gives him a thumbs up. With a sigh, he takes the clothes from Changbin so he could go change, and tries his best to ignore Hyunjin giggling from behind him.

  
  
  
  


“Seungmin, you have to side-step to the _left,_ not the right!” Changbin huffs when Seungmin falls on his butt. He looks up at Changbin as his friend points the tip of the practice sword at his chest, right above his heart. “You’d be dead now if this was a real fight.”

It’s another day that Changbin has off from princely duties, since the king and queen are out roaming the city. Seungmin had asked Changbin a while ago why the king does that, and Changbin explained that it’s the king’s way of keeping a good image, making the people think he’s actually a good patriarch. It seemed ridiculous, considering the amount of evil the king has actually done, but the villagers probably don’t know that.

The training grounds are near the stables and Seungmin can hear the horses whinnying and the donkeys braying, but that’s probably from the unexpected blast of fire Seungmin had released to keep himself upright minutes earlier.

“I’m trying, Changbin.” Seungmin hisses as Changbin helps him up. He weighs his practice sword in his hand with a scowl. “These damned wooden swords are so unbalanced it's throwing me off, though.”

“So the weight of the practice swords is so heavy that it makes you forget left from right?” Changbin retorts. Teacher Changbin is much different from royal Changbin, or vulnerable Changbin, or calm Changbin. When he’s like this, he tends to get rough sometimes, but Seungmin appreciates it. It keeps him steady.

“Whatever.” He mutters under his breath and readies himself, lowering into the position Changbin had taught him for defensive. His friend tilts his head, studying his stance, before rolling his eyes and moving over to him. He stands behind Seungmin, slotting his feet against the latter’s to readjust them, lifting his sword arm up and lowering his left shoulder down as a way to tell him to relax. 

“Why do I even have to learn this if I can literally just set things on fire?” Seungmin asks as Changbin runs a hand down his back to try and ease the tension out of his spine. Seungmin feels his heartbeat pick up considerably, but tries to ignore it.

“You may be the chosen one, but even you don’t have unlimited magic.” Changbin begins, running his fingers along Seungmin’s sword arm to his hand, helping to adjust his grip a little. “When you’re in battle, if you rely too much on your magic, you’ll run out and end up dead if you don’t know how to defend yourself. At least this way, you can know the basics and keep yourself alive long enough to get _out_ of the fight.”

“The basics are hard.” Seungmin grimaces. 

Changbin finally pulls away and stands in front of him, holding his own practice sword up and tapping the tip of it against Seungmin’s. “They are, but they’re also the line between life and death.” He chuckles. “We’ll go through the steps one more time, and then call it a day, okay? I wanna take you somewhere.”

“Do we have time for that?” Seungmin asks. Changbin’s front foot shifts just slightly, and Seungmin is suddenly on high alert as Changbin lunges at him. Seungmin deflects the attack easily, feeling a bloom of pride flare up in him. Maybe this practice was paying off after all.

“We do.” Changbin answers, a smile on his lips as he keeps forcing Seungmin back with his attacks. “Get on the offense, Seungmin. Like we practiced.”

“I’m trying.” Seungmin grunts through gritted teeth, deflecting another blow before using the leverage to shove Changbin backwards and spin around him, knocking his leg out from under him. Changbin recovers quickly, his reflexes much more fine-tuned than Seungmin’s, and he swings his sword at Seungmin’s neck. Seungmin throws his sword up to deflect it at the last second, eyes wide as he stares at the wooden weapon. “Asshole.”

Changbin laughs and steps forward, dragging the sword across Seungmin’s. Seungmin huffs and pushes forward, twisting the hand guard up around Changbin’s blade to try and wrench the weapon out of his hands, but Changbin was faster. The man ducks and swipes his feet under Seungmin’s, sending him flying backwards and the sword clatters out of his hand as Changbin points his own at Seungmin’s face. “That was better.”

Seungmin smiles and takes Changbin’s hand when it’s offered, pulling himself up and brushing himself off. “Thanks.”

“We’ll come out again in a couple nights and try it again. You’re not gonna master sword-fighting overnight, afterall.” Changbin jokes as he picks up Seungmin’s sword and brings both of the practice weapons over to the small shed on the edge of the clearing, simply tossing them inside before brushing his hands off on his trousers. “Now, follow me.”

Seungmin trails along behind Changbin as they make their way through the stables. Seungmin didn’t expect them to have _actual_ horses, since the other creatures in this world were very different, but he’s glad for a little familiarity.

“This is Byeol.” Changbin says when they reach a stall at the other end of the stables. A beautiful, tall, golden steed stares at them from inside the stall, his tail swishing around and kicking up the hay dust dancing around him in the sunlight.

“He’s beautiful.” Seungmin smiles, leaning on the half-wall separating him from the animal. “You know, considering the fauna this world has, I expected the horses to like… glow or talk or have horns or something. It’s nice to see something familiar from home.” 

“It seems as though faithful steeds are universal, no matter what world you’re in.” Changbin chortles. Byeol huffs out a heavy breath, as though agreeing, as Changbin grabs a lead from the hook next to the stall and unlocks the door. He steps over to his horse and throws the rope over his neck, hooking the clasp together and guiding the animal out in the hall. “Wanna help me brush him down?”

“Where are we going?” Seungmin asks with a nod in response to Changbin's question. His friend hands him the lead before disappearing into the tack room, returning a moment later with a bag full of brushes.

Changbin hands a brush to Seungmin before taking one for himself and walking to the otherside of Byeol, meeting Seungmin’s eyes over the horse’s back. “It’s a nice day for a picnic, don’t you think?” 

  
  
  


The feeling of riding a horse as it gallops across a field is unbeatable, especially when you’re pressed against the back of a warm body, your arms wrapped around their waist. Seungmin leans his head back, letting his eyes close as he feels the wind whip at his hair. The air feels nice on his face after being cooped up in the room for a month.

They had gotten a basket of assorted fruits, handmade sandwiches, and a couple of desserts from Hyunjin after Changbin made a request to one of the castle staff — a kind girl, who kept staring at Seungmin in awe as Changbin spoke to her — and then they set off across the castle grounds towards a clearing in the woods. Changbin told Seungmin that the clearing was a peaceful place, untouched by anything negative or harmful. A place of healing.

Byeol had collapsed gratefully into the plush grass when they reached the clearing, rolling around a little before simply basking in the sunlight. Seungmin found the sight amusing as he helped Changbin lay out the picnic blanket and unpack the food.

“You know, when we first got here, I thought I was going to have to stay locked up in your room the whole four months.” Seungmin says after they’ve settled down and began eating.

“Hmm? Why?” Changbin glances at him in confusion as he peels an orange.

“Just-” Seungmin pauses, focusing on his own orange. The skin on his was a little more difficult. “You made it seem like I would have to. That whole, “you have to stay in my room during the day”, bit.”

“Oh,” Changbin hums. “I guess I should’ve clarified that’s only for when the king and queen are home.”

“Yeah, probably.” Seungmin snorts as he separates the orange slices. “Tell me about the queen. You haven’t said anything bad about her, and the last time you mentioned her, you seemed… fond.”

Changbin smiles slightly, though he looks a little melancholic. “Queen Eunji. She’s a very kind woman.” He starts, setting his orange down on the blanket and leaning back on his hands. “She has long, silky black hair and deep, brown eyes and she’s very soft spoken unless needed otherwise. When she’s annoyed or angry, her voice remains eerily calm and she gets this fire in her eyes. It’s amazing.” 

“Yeah? What else?” Seungmin asks before popping another orange slice in his mouth.

“Hmm…” Changbin thinks, tapping his chin. “She has a very warm smile. Oh! And she’s actually the one who tends to the garden the most, and she _loves_ animals. She’s also very kind to the kitchen staff.” Changbin’s smile grows as he talks. “How she ended up married to that prick of a king, I’ll never understand.”

“She sounds wonderful.” Seungmin smiles as well. “I hope that, when this is all over, I’ll get to meet her.”

“Oh, you’ll love her.” Changbin declares rather confidently. “You actually remind me of her.”

“I do?” Seungmin raises his eyebrows questioningly.

“Mhm.” Changbin looks over at him, his expression softening. 

Seungmin feels a heat crawl up his neck, but he blames it on the sun shining down on them. “Interesting.” He mumbles, keeping his eyes fixed on the half-eaten orange in his hand.

“What about your mother?” Changbin asks, grabbing one of the sandwiches and unwrapping the cloth keeping it clean.

“Oh, she uh…” Seungmin trails off for a moment, his face falling. “She passed away when I was young.”

“Oh.” Changbin stops mid-bite, simply staring at the sandwich in his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I mean, I still miss her a lot, but I stopped letting it bring me down years ago. Though, sometimes I wish I could remember what she looked like but all I really remember is a… a warm presence.” Seungmin shakes his head, lifting his gaze to meet Changbin’s as a soft laugh leaves his lips. “She used to call me, “starsweeper”.” 

“Oh yeah? Where’d that come from?” Changbin has a smile of his own.

Seungmin feels a little shy as he looks away, picking at a loose thread on his pants. “My dad used to tell this story about a little boy who would climb a ladder to the moon and sweep stars off its surface little by little. He was in control of something so great, had so much responsibility. So my mom started calling me that.”

“That’s sweet,” Changbin murmurs. “Starsweeper…”

Seungmin hums, leaning back on his hands and looking over at Changbin again. “What about your mom?”

Changbin’s shoulders tense and he quickly averts his gaze. His jaw is clenched as he stares at the sandwich in his hand. “I wonder who made these.” He mutters, trying to change the topic.

Seungmin exhales, feeling guilty that he hit a sore spot. With a shrug, he leans over to inspect the sandwich. “Looks like something Jeongin would put together.” He can feel Changbin relax next to him when his friend realizes that he’s not going to push the previous topic.

“Yeah?” Changbin manages a small chuckle.

Seungmin nods. “Mhm. Should be pretty good.”

Changbin looks between him and the sandwich before taking a bite. It only takes two chews before his eyelids are fluttering, a groan vibrating in his throat. “It actually is amazing.”

Seungmin laughs and grabs another orange slice. Any tension that remained had fizzled out, replaced with laughter and jokes. Changbin grabs an apple at one point and throws it over to Byeol, both of them watching with amused smiles as the horse gratefully gobbles it up. 

Changbin shifts to lay his head in Seungmin’s lap after a while, humming appreciatively when Seungmin’s hand finds its way to his hair. Seungmin looks down at him, tilting his head to the side as he admires the way the sun kisses Changbin's skin.

“Hey, Changbin?”

Changbin raises his eyebrows questioningly.

Seungmin smiles. “What’s on your mind?”

Changbin’s eyes flutter open to meet Seungmin’s gaze. His lips twitch up into a smile. “Would you believe me if I said you?”

Seungmin’s heart backflips as his smile grows. “Only if you prove it to me.”

Changbin grins, teeth on full display. “I can do that.” He murmurs as he shuts his eyes again and readjusts slightly before exhaling through his parted lips. Seungmin can feel him relaxing.

A second later, images of himself through Changbin’s eyes flash through his mind. Reading on the balcony of their room, playing with the fire in the fireplace, sleeping peacefully, snuggled deep into the covers, laughing with Hyunjin when the boy brings them breakfast. It’s odd, seeing himself through someone else’s eyes.

“Wow.” Is all he can say, because he can’t find the right words to actually articulate what he means. _This is how you see me? If only you knew how I see you._ Is probably what he would say if he was just a little braver.

Then again, Changbin probably knows already.

“Wow, huh?” Changbin snorts, reaching up to brush his bangs off his forehead.

“Mm, wow.” Seungmin repeats, giggling to himself.

“I always see you happy. At peace.” Changbin says, reaching for Seungmin’s hands. The latter threads their fingers together without hesitation. “Even when you're not happy, I imagine you are in hopes that somehow, it’ll help take some of your sorrow away.”

“You know that’s not how it works, right?” Seungmin laughs a little despite himself. He still appreciates the thought.

Changbin rolls his eyes, but a smile tugs at his lips. “Of course I know that. Which is why I do my best to comfort you regardless.” 

“Oh, of course.” Seungmin huffs a laugh through his nose as he runs his fingers through Changbin’s hair. “Hey, promise me something.”

“Hmm?”

“When something’s bothering you, come to me, okay?” Seungmin requests, gently cupping Changbin’s cheek to get his attention. “You’re always doing it for me. It’s only fair that we keep an open line of communication since I can’t access your thoughts like you can access mine.”

Changbin doesn't answer right away, his lips parted as he searches Seungmin’s face. Seungmin almost thinks he imagined Changbin’s gaze lingering on his lips, but he brushes that thought off as the man smiles and nods. “I promise.”

Seungmin smiles as well, letting his shoulders relax. “Good.” 

They fall into a silence after that, basking in the sunlight and listening to Byeol graze around the clearing. Eventually, Changbin stands and pulls Seungmin to his feet, leading him towards the treeline wordlessly. He asks about Seungmin’s hobbies and interests and Seungmin talks about his favorite books as they venture a little ways into the trees to a stream. Byeol stayed in the clearing, much more keen on letting the sun warm his pelt rather than wander through the woods it seems.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve read it at least 20 times since I stumbled across it at the library that day.” Seungmin chuckles, ducking under a branch as Changbin holds it up for him.

“It definitely sounds interesting.” Changbin says as he follows Seungmin down the small hill to the stream. “That part about the group coming together at the end to fight the bad guy was really cool, and that part about the protagonist getting together with her appointed knight, although you spoiled it _just_ a little.”

“Oops.” Seungmin mumbles, but his lips twitch into a small smile.

Changbin just laughs a little and kneels by the water, sticking his hand in it and letting it wash over his skin. “This should be drinkable.”

“Yeah?” Seungmin asks, slightly shocked, as he knees next to his friend.

Changbin nods and cups his hands in the water, lifting it to take a sip. His eyes practically sparkle as his tongue swipes across his top lip. “Tastes like stars.”

Seungmin laughs a little as he collects some water in his hands as well. “How do you know what stars taste like?”

“Wild guess?” 

Seungmin just snorts and takes a sip of the water as well. He gasps a little, eyes widening as he stares at the water in his hands. It tasted crisp, cool, clean. Changbin’s right, it does taste like what stars _might_ taste like, could they actually eat them. “Wow.”

Changbin giggles and gets another handful of water, savoring it as he drinks it slowly. As Seungmin is leaning down to get more of his own, the cool water splashes against his face. He cries out in surprise, his head snapping around to glare at Changbin as his friend tries to stifle another laugh.

“You’re an ass.” Seungmin mutters, splashing Changbin back. The man squeals, falling back on his butt as he wipes his face off. They stare at each other for a moment before they both break out into laughter, joy buzzing through their veins, as though nothing’s wrong. It’s easy to forget about the constant danger looming overhead when Seungmin’s with Changbin, especially as they run through the stream and splash each other, laughing and screaming.

“Seungmin—!” Changbin gasps through his laughs, stumbling to a stop as water splashes up around him. Seungmin stops a little ways ahead of him, turning around to look at him with a bright grin. Changbin opens his mouth to say something more, and then—

Seungmin isn’t sure what happened, really. One second, Changbin was speaking to him, and the next, he was plummeting through darkness. He didn't scream, too shocked by the sudden turn of events to realize what had even happened.

He lands seconds later on a pile of… something, bits of it clattering around him as he shifts to sit up. With a groan, he lifts his hand up, focusing his energy to light a flame in the middle of his palm so he could see.

His heart drops into his stomach at the mound of bones underneath him, and he finally screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruh roh, not a pile of bones :O  
> see you next week :)
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)  
> 
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/flwrbins?s=21)
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/jisungsgIow)


	4. Fated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeaaaah we're back with more mystery and more feelings :D also seungmin has lots of weird dreams lol

_The fire will consume you, if you do not learn to love it as opposed to control it._

  
  
  
  
  


_“Changbin!”_ Seungmin screams, panic shooting through him as he scrambles to climb off the pile of bones. Antlers are attached to some of the skulls, curled horns on others, but all of them are humanoid.

Shocks of fear and despair shoot through his body but it's not entirely his own. There’s whispers all around him, telling him to run, to hide, to help. He feels so overwhelmed, slapping his hands over his ears when the fire in his palm flickers out. 

He manages a quick glance at his surroundings, guessing he’s in some sort of cave. There’s a hole at the top, water spilling over the edges with bits of grass and roots dangling from it. He assumes that’s where he fell from. 

“Chang-Changbin-!” He calls again. No answer. His fear skyrockets, suddenly terrified he was left alone with the bones and damp walls.

He stumbles backwards, away from the mound, and trips over a rock, falling back with a grunt. He tries his best to keep himself calm and counts to ten, inhaling and exhaling slowly, before pushing himself up. With another glance around, hoping he could find some way out, but he sees nothing. That doesn’t do much to quell the fear tormenting in his stomach, but he tries to stay calm. 

After another moment of consideration, he figures he could try and find out what the whispering is. He can make out a few voices, barely, all asking him to help. So, curiously, he approaches the pile of bones and kneels next to it, his hand hovering over it.

Instantly, he feels a dozen phantom hands on his arm, clawing at his skin desperately. Cries for help overwhelm him once again, and he shuts his eyes tightly, somehow trying to pick out a singular voice in the mass. They're all so loud, so scared, so hurt. What happened to them? Who are they? Why can’t they rest?

Just as it starts to become too much, Changbin appears next to him. The man falters just slightly at the sight of the bone mound, but he barely gives Seungmin a chance to react before he’s blipping both of them back to the clearing. Byeol whinnies in surprise, but otherwise ignores them.

“The-The bones- They-” Seungmin stutters, his hands scrambling as he tries to ground himself, tries to recover from the voices and the hands clawing at him. Tries to recover from the snap back to reality. 

“Hey, hey, hey.” Changbin grabs his wrists, guiding him to meet his eyes. “Breathe, Seungmin. Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

Seungmin watches Changbin’s chest rise and falls and does his best to copy the movements, and slowly, he feels himself calming down. “There were so many.” He whispers, eyes still trained on Changbin’s chest as he speaks in between inhales and exhales. “I could feel it, their fear. They were jumpers, I-I think, most of them at least. Changbin, there were so many of them.”

“I’m sorry.” Is all Changbin can say. Seungmin doesn’t blame him, because there’s not much they can say about it. “We’ll come back and put their spirits to rest after this is all over, okay? I promise.”

Seungmin just nods, leaning forward to press his forehead against Changbin’s chest. He just listens to the man’s heartbeat for a moment, letting his thoughts wash over him when Changbin lets him in; His way of showing Seungmin that this is bothering him too. He’s just better at compartmentalizing.

“Let’s head back, alright?” Changbin murmurs, reaching up to run a hand through Seungmin’s hair. Seungmin nods and lets Changbin help him up so he can walk over to Byeol, letting the horse nuzzle against his hand when he reaches out. 

The ride back to the castle is quiet, Seungmin’s head pressed against Changbin’s back and his arms locked firmly around his waist. They’re silent as they take the saddle off of Byeol and brush him down, clean his stall, and leave him with fresh food before Changbin finally blips them back to the room. 

“How are you so calm, Bin?” Seungmin asks as Changbin digs through the wardrobe for his evening wear.

“What do you mean?” Changbin murmurs, finally finding the clothes he needs.

“The-” Seungmin pauses, staring at Changbin incredulously. “The _bones,_ Changbin!” He exclaims. “First, that hidden room, the tapestry _,_ and now _this?!”_

Changbin doesn't speak or move for a long time, his grip on his clothes tight as he stares at them. On the outside, he looks indifferent, but Seungmin can feel the anger coursing through him like a fire. It’s actually _scary,_ considering how calm and collected Changbin usually is.

Finally, Changbin sighs. “It pisses me off, Seungmin.” He whispers, turning to face his friend. There’s tears in his eyes. “I’m so angry, all the time. When I walk into that dining hall every night and have to look the king in the eye, knowing what he’s done, what he’s going to do. When I watch you struggle with so much stress that everyone’s put on your shoulders. When I think of what Minho and Chan are dealing with. When I think of what's happened to our people.” 

“How do you not snap?” Seungmin frowns.

Changbin chuckles dryly. “It’s really hard, I’ll admit that.” He mutters. “But I just think of how much satisfaction I’ll get from destroying that son of a bitch alongside you when the time is right and, well, it makes it all worth it.”

“Oh, how romantic.” Seungmin replies flatly, but he smiles when it elicits a snort from Changbin.

“Sure, if that's the word you want to use.” The shorter man shakes his head before holding his clothes up. “I’m gonna change now.”

“Okay.” Seungmin nods, and then as Changbin is passing him, he grabs his arm to stop him in his tracks. “Thank you.” He murmurs, knowing he won’t have to specify why.

Changbin’s face softens and he smiles ever so slightly as he grabs Seungmin's hand to press a kiss to the back of it. Seungmin watches him retreat into the bathroom and he sits in the velvet chair while he waits for him to come back out. With a soft sigh, he lets his head fall back against the headrest, staring out the balcony doors. They’re wide open, the lace curtains swaying slightly in the breeze. The sun sets, casting a golden glow over the room.

He’s glad that he and Changbin have this time together. He wonders, if they hadn’t had the chance for so much time alone, would they be as close. And if that's the case, would it be harder for them to avoid destroying each other? Maybe now that they’ve formed a bond, they could avoid that little detail.

He hopes so, at least.

“We’ll win, right?” Seungmin whispers, reaching out to the sun. The light bends around his hand, first setting his fingers on fire before they suddenly disappear. His eyes widen in surprise, sitting forward to look at his hand, the tips of his fingers invisible.

“Huh…” He hums, focusing again on the light. Slowly, his fingers reappear, and the light retracts from his skin. “Useful.”

When Changbin emerges, he hugs Seungmin. They reluctantly part so Changbin can leave for dinner, eventually leaving Seungmin in the silence of the room. Seungmin decides he’ll tell Changbin about the new ability later.

With a soft sigh, he walks onto the balcony and stares out at the garden, watching as the plants begin to glow brighter as the moon slowly climbs into the sky. He’s not sure how long he stands there before Jeongin finally sneaks into the room with his dinner, but he guesses it wasn’t as long as it felt.

“Are you okay?” Jeongin frowns when Seungmin silently settles on the bed with his food.

“Not really.” Seungmin shrugs.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Seungmin shakes his head.

“Want me to stay?”

Seungmin hesitates, and then nods. Jeongin smiles and slides onto the bed in front of him, stealing one of the fruits from his tray of food. Seungmin manages to crack a slight smile as he finally starts eating, simply enjoying his friend’s company.

Jeongin holds Seungmin under the covers after he finishes his food, humming a quiet song to lull his friend to sleep. It works, eventually, and Seungmin hears Jeongin whisper softly, _“You’ll be okay eventually”,_ as sleep finally pulls him under.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  
  


_Pop!_

Seungmin jumps. He’s sitting on a couch. He’s sitting on a couch in the apartment he had been looking at for him and his friends for a few months now. With a soft smile, he runs a hand over the cushions. 

“I did it.” He whispers to himself. Pride blooms in his chest. He isn’t sure _what_ he did, but he knows he’s succeeded.

“Hey, dummy, what are you doing just sitting there?” Hyunjin’s voice catches his attention. He looks up and meets his friend’s eyes, who smiles, teeth on full display and eyes curling into crescents. “Come blow out your candles and cut your cake, birthday boy!”

Everything warps when Hyunjin says _‘cut’,_ the room changes and he’s on a field. Smoke billows around him, fire warms his skin, bodies lay around him, and screams hit him from every direction. When he blinks, everything is normal again. His head swims for a second, and then he’s fine. It all fades away and he forgets about it.

With a smile directed at Hyunjin, he jumps off the couch, hurrying after his friend and into the dining room where the others are waiting. Felix (who looks _human),_ Jeongin and Jisung are waiting by the lights, which they flick off as soon as Seungmin enters. Chan stands at the cake with a knife, a fond smile on his face, and his free hand tangled with Minho’s - Minho, who looks entirely normal and alive, eyes chocolate brown and skin flush with color, clear of scars. 

Seungmin stops when his eyes drift over to Changbin, who’s sitting right next to the chair at the head of the table. He looks beautiful, even in the candlelight dancing across his face. Changbin smiles, soft and kind, and a small gasp leaves Seungmin’s lips when everything warps again, screams filling his ears. 

“Seungmin?” Changbin asks, worriedly. His voice is a little weird, just a little off, but Seungmin can’t quite figure out why. He winces as more screams echo around his skull, his hands flying up to cover his ears. As soon as it appeared, it’s gone again, and he can only hear the blood rushing in his ears, the soft sounds of music coming from the other room, and his friends as they begin to sing him happy birthday.

Everything’s okay.

Which is why everything is wrong. 

The domesticity. The normality. None of it is right. His body moves against his will, though, when Chan holds the knife up invitingly, a silent request for him to cut the cake. 

When he’s standing in front of the cake, with the knife in hand, the room fills with anticipation. His friends keep singing until he blows out the candle, and when the blade of the kitchen knife sinks into the cake, everything shifts. 

The room is dimmed, the streamers and paper lanterns are torn, the wallpaper is shredded, the light is hanging by a thread, sparks flying off of it. Panic spreads in his chest at the sight of his friends sitting rigid at the table, smears of blood on their skin and clothes. 

“N-No-” He whimpers.

Their heads snap towards him, eyes void and empty, and then he’s plummeting through darkness, a silent scream escaping his lips. 

He hits something solid, and with a quick glance at his surroundings, he realizes he’s standing in an empty ballroom, the walls on fire and the roof crumbling around him. 

Standing in the middle of the room is the king, his eyes glowing red and his face contorted in a sinister grin. Shadows rise around him, morphing and changing shapes, and when Seungmin locks eyes with the king, the man’s eyes turn ice blue and he raises a sword above his head, the tip hanging threateningly above him, taunting. 

_“Tick tock, Chosen One.”_

He wakes with a scream, arms flailing in front of him for any sort of purchase before his mind registers that he’s awake. He shoots up, his shirt sticking to his skin and tears pricking at his eyes. He struggles to catch his breath, his hands trembling where they white-knuckle the sheets. Someone shifts in front of him, and one of his hands fly up as fire gathers in his palm, only to realize that it’s just Changbin, half-awake with his hair sticking out in every direction.

“The sheets are on fire.” Changbin mutters, nodding towards the bed where Seungmin’s was still hanging onto it. Quickly, he lets go and pats out the fire with a whimper. “And… I saw your dream.”

“What if I get them all killed?” Seungmin rasps, staring down at his shaking hands. “What if I can’t stop this in time- wh-what if I fail and all my friends die- what if-” The words catch in his throat, and he finally looks up af Changbin, tears in his eyes. “What if I get _you_ killed?”

“Seungmin,” Changbin sighs, crawling closer to him on the bed. He gently closes his fists and brings them to his lips, pressing soft kisses to his knuckles. “The king may best you in sheer physical size and strength, but you have the magical highground. We’re going to win. We’re going to be okay.”

“We..” Seungmin breathes, closing his eyes and leaning into Changbin’s warmth. “Not just me, but us.”

“Us.” Changbin affirms, reaching a hand up to run it through Seungmin’s hair. “‘Now, come on. Get some fresh air.” He says as he helps him out of the bed and over to the balcony.

They’re quiet for a while, as they stare at the stars. Seungmin lets the cool air wash over him, drying away his tears and brushing away the fear of his nightmare. Slowly, he can feel himself relaxing, and Changbin as well. 

It occurs to Seungmin, then, that the memories slash dreams he was experiencing were probably from his last reincarnation – hell, maybe all of them. Which just makes him want to go back to that secret room and dig around more, because maybe he can find something more, something _useful._

“Seungmin,” Changbin cuts through the silence. “What’s on your mind?”

“How did we get caught up in this?” Seungmin whispers. He didn’t mean to say that, but it’s a valid question either way.

Changbin scoffs bitterly, and Seungmin can see him shake his head in his peripheral. “It’s so fucking unfair.”

Seungmin hums in agreement. “Neither one of us is dying. Fuck destiny. We make our own.” He says determinedly. He wouldn’t – no, _couldn’t,_ let that happen. Too many lives have been lost, too much blood has been shed. He was not going to let anyone lose a life for this. “Step off the garden path, right?” 

“Right.” Changbin confirms with a nod. He reaches over and grabs Seungmin’s hand, their fingers tangling together. Seungmin can feel his relief, and he smiles just a little. They fall into a comfortable silence after that, staring at the stars as they shine from above, providing their support in their own way.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Seungmin!” Jeongin’s cheerful voice wakes him from a half-dream.

Seungmin groans, pushing his face into the pillows. He had given up on reading through the books he had read a million times before and snuggled into the sheets after opening the balcony doors to let in the fresh air, and eventually had fallen asleep with the sun warming his face. He had not expected to be so rudely awakened.

“Brought you dinner and a surprise.” Jeongin announces as he walks over to the bed and sets the tray down on the nightstand.

“Five more minutes.” Seungmin mutters. Changbin was due to dinner with the king and queen by now he’s sure, and he really didn’t feel like moving until his friend returned.

“Are you sure? Even if I told you a small group of us are sneaking out to the forest?” Jeongin laughs a bit, reaching up to brush Seungmin’s hair back, forcing light to hit his eyelids.

“Too risky.” Seungmin grumbles.

“You can if the king is out for the night on some diplomatic mission to a neighboring kingdom.” Another voice speaks instead of Jeongin, and Seungmin pushes himself up to see Changbin standing in the doorway with a smile. 

“What?” Seungmin asks dumbly, eyebrows furrowed. “Neighboring kingdom?”

Changbin snorts and pushes off the doorframe, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder into the hallway behind him. “I’ll explain on the way. Come on.”

“What about dinner?” Seungmin whines, looking longingly at the steaming chicken pot pie sitting on the nightstand.

“You can warm it up when we come back.” Changbin answers with a shrug. “Now _come on,_ Min.”

“Fine, fine.” Seungmin grunts and climbs out of the bed. Jeongin squeals happily and hurries ahead as Seungmin falls into step with Changbin.

“The forest, huh?” Seungmin asks as they descend a staircase, taking them in the same direction as the garden.

“Well, the nearest beach is half a day’s travel from here, but there’s a lake at the center of the woods, so,” Changbin explains, smiling.

Seungmin hums, falling quiet for a moment. And then, “What did you mean, ‘neighboring kingdom’?”

“Seungmin, you didn’t actually think this was all there was here, did you?” Changbin looks over at him, an amused grin making its way onto his face.

“Well-!” Seungmin huffs, gesturing vaguely. “For all I know, the king could’ve laid waste to everything else!”

Changbin laughs, a hand clutching his stomach. “He wishes.” He tries to joke, but it falls flat as his smile falters just slightly. “Actually, he does wish so.”

Seungmin pauses. He stares at Changbin for a moment, thinking the statement over, and then things start to make sense. “Why exactly is he like… after me?”

“I wouldn’t say he’s _after you,_ per say, but ki- _getting rid of_ you would definitely make things easier on him.” Changbin explains, though he looks a little sheepish at his choice of wording. “Easier as in, your mere presence in this world literally prevents him from doing any real damage to anything, so any trip he makes to our neighbors is purely diplomatic - at least, I think so, anyways. I wouldn’t actually know.”

“Oh.”

“But with you out of the way, he would fully rise to the tyrannical leader he so _desperately_ wants to be.” Changbin’s tone is condescending as he says that, and it’s enough to bring a wry smile to Seungmin’s face.

“How terrible that I’m preventing that.” Seungmin sighs dramatically, letting his head roll back. Changbin chuckles softly. 

They fall quiet again as they follow a too-hyper Jeongin through the corridors and eventually out a pair of glass doors, where a group of what Seungmin assumes is the kitchen staff is waiting. Hyunjin is chatting to a young woman, his eyes sparkling excitedly. Jeongin leaps onto his back with a giggle, but his attention is on another girl standing next to the woman Hyunjin was conversing with. 

As Seungmin and Changbin walk down the steps, Changbin gestures to the small group, pointing to each individual person as he introduces them. “That’s Bambam, Ryujin, Dejun, Yugyeom, and Sana. They’re on our side.”

“Hey, everyone.” Seungmin says a little awkwardly when they come to stop, waving a little. All the mini conversations fall silent as all eyes turn on him, and then everyone except Hyunjin and Jeongin are bowing in unison. Seungmin meets Hyunjin’s eyes in shock, but his friend only provides a shrug in response. Confused, Seungmin turns his attention to the others. “U-Um, there’s no need for that.” 

Slowly, the group straightens back up, and Changbin takes over after that, clearing his throat. “Shall we?”

Everyone cheers and takes off running towards the forest. Seungmin manages a soft chuckle at the sight of Hyunjin and Jeongin messing around with Dejun and Ryujin, the four of them jokingly shoving each other to try and get ahead. 

“Coming?” Changbin asks, coming into his line of vision.

Seungmin blinks at him, his smile growing just slightly. “yeah, of course.”

A wicked grin breaks out on Changbin’s face then. “Race you.” Is all he says before he’s taking off after the group at a sprint.

With a chuckle, Seungmin jogs after his friend. He always prefers to enjoy the scenery as opposed to letting it fly past him in a blur, anyways.

The path to the lake is overgrown with ferns and other strange flora, flowers towering high over their heads and vines snaking across the well-worn dirt. Seungmin catches sight of animals in the underbrush, bucks with glowing antlers and squirrels with six legs instead of four.

It truly is an interesting sight, and he’d pay more attention to it if he hadn’t finally caught up with Changbin, his friend hunched over as he tries to catch his breath. Seungmin slows to a stop next to him, smiling to himself.

“You’re like the hare from the tortoise and the hare story, Binnie.” Seungmin says jokingly. “You go too fast, you’ll burn out.”

“And here I was, thinking I had slowed down enough to let you catch up to me.” Changbin snorts, straightening up to meet his eyes. He still looks out of breath.

“Aw, how kind of you.” Seungmin coos, grinning as Changbin sticks his tongue out, before he turns on his heel and begins jogging back down the path. “But I’ve got the lead for now!” He calls over his shoulder, and the melodic sound of Changbin’s laughter follows him.

In the end, Changbin “wins” the race after Seungmin had tripped over a rock in the path. His friend had been nice enough to keep him from falling, but he used Seungmin’s unbalanced legs to his advantage to charge ahead and reach the edge of the trees before Seungmin had the chance to fully regain his footing. Seungmin just grumbled to himself as he caught up to Changbin, earning himself a chortle and a gentle pat on his shoulder.

“Next time.” Changbin reassures, though there’s a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Whatever.” Seungmin scoffs, rolling his eyes and following Changbin down the hill to the water where the rest of their friends were already playing, laughter filling the air.

Moonlight reflects off the water, the image warping in the ripples caused by the people swimming and jumping in it. Seungmin stops a few steps away, scanning the area. It looks familiar, and it takes him only a second to realize that a painting leads to it. He spots the frame at the top of the opposite hill, glinting in the moonlight. Seungmin scowls and ignores it, crossing the rest of the distance to the water.

“Seungmin!” Hyunjin calls from the water. Jeongin sits on his shoulders, the two of them mirroring Bambam and Sana. “Join us! The water feels amazing!”

Seungmin glances at Changbin and his friend shrugs before tugging his shirt off over his head. Seungmin’s attention is immediately drawn to markings on his back, runes carved into his skin, resembling wings. Seungmin wants to ask, but instead, he rips his gaze away and takes his own shirt off despite feeling a little self-conscious, his pants following it. He can ask about the markings later, when they’re alone.

Changbin’s eyes burn into his skin as he takes a couple steps back, inhales, and then charges towards the lake, throwing himself into it. He might as well have a little fun before the inevitable battle looming in the future. He submerges for a couple seconds and bobs back up to hear a couple of cheers, and a smile tugs at his lips.

“Sky!” A voice catches his attention. He looks over to see Ryujin smiling at him, and she gestures towards Hyunjin and the others. “What do you say we knock them down?”

Seungmin shoots a glance over his shoulder at the others, watching as Jeongin and Sana somewhat shove at each other from their spots perched on their friends’ shoulders, breathy giggles leaving their mouths. Seungmin smirks and ducks down to help Ryujin onto his shoulders, to which she cheers and climbs on. He floats over to the others, a mischievous grin on his face when he reaches them. Hyunjin laughs when he sees them, but shifts a little to the right to make a little more room.

“We’re gonna win.” Ryujin declares determinedly from Seungmin’s shoulders, rocking both of them a little as she puffs her chest out and plants her hands on her hips. Sana and Bambam share a glance before breaking out into laughter, Hyunjin and Jeongin soon following.

“I wouldn’t laugh if I were you.” Seungmin huffs, the water around him bubbling as heat gathers in his arms so as not to burn Ryujin. He ignores the aching in his chest.

Sana tuts, wiggling a finger back and forth. “No magic! That’s cheating!”

Seungmin blinks, and then he snorts, letting the heat subside. “Fine. We’ll win the old-fashioned way.”

And then Ryujin, Sana and Jeongin are struggling in the air as Seungmin and the other two work to keep them upright. Seungmin can kind of hear the others behind him, cheering them on and laughing as they do, but all he’s focused on is Sana and Bambam falling backwards and Hyunjin laughing as Ryujin and Jeongin seem to be at a stalemate above them.

“Hyunjin, she’s so strong!” Jeongin gasps in between tiny grunts as he tries to shove Ryujin backwards. Seungmin quickly digs his feet into the ground, keeping them spaced out so he can lean forward a little against the force of Jeongin pushing against the girl on his shoulders.

“Yes I am!” Ryujin laughs, her grip tightening on Jeongin’s shoulders. It’s like she’s barely even trying, but she’s as immovable as a mountain. Seungmin really is impressed, wondering what she must be like in battle. Definitely a force not to be reckoned with, is his guess.

_Believe it or not, Ryujin is an archer._ Changbin says in his head.

_Is she now?_

_Yep._ Seungmin can feel Changbin’s pride for Ryujin, and it makes him smile. _And, careful. You’re slipping._

Quickly, he readjusts his footing and pushes forward just a little, which gives Ryujin the leverage she needs to send Jeongin and Hyunjin flying backwards into the water.

Seungmin and Ryujin cheer loudly, rocking a little as Ryujin pumps her fists in the air. The woman quickly slides off Seungmin’s shoulders and back into the water before throwing herself at his back, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

“You’re awesome!” She all but yells in his ear, and Seungmin flinches slightly but chuckles, patting her arm in thanks.

The games and laughter continue into the late hours of the night, all the worries of the previous weeks washing away in the water. All Seungmin cares about in that moment is the new friendships he’s creating and the time he gets to spend with Changbin, reclined on the grassy hill as they count the stars with their friends screaming and laughing in the background.

“The constellations are different from home.” Seungmin murmurs, his eyes flitting from star to star.

“Mm… home.” Changbin’s tone is almost bittersweet. Seungmin glances at him in confusion. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been back in our world. I consider Issinet my home now, I guess. But I always felt… out of place back there - on Earth.”

Seungmin hums in response, turning his gaze back to the stars. “Honestly, I get what you mean.” He says softly. “Hyunjin, Jeongin and I were… content, I guess, with where we were, but I always felt like something was missing, I guess?”

Changbin pushes himself onto his elbow so he can look at Seungmin better. As always, he looks so incandescently beautiful, silhouetted against the clear, starry sky. Even at night, his eyes are brighter than all the stars combined.

“I miss it and my dad sometimes, but…” Seungmin trails off for a moment, lifting his hand to look at it. “I feel complete here.”

“Well, it is destiny, after all.” Changbin murmurs, threading his fingers through Seungmin’s and resting their hands on the latter’s chest.

“I suppose it is.” Seungmin agrees, meeting Changbin’s eyes. The man’s expression softens considerably then, a comforting smile making its way onto his face.

“I’m glad it’s you that I’m stuck with for all eternity.” Changbin says finally, a certain edge to his tone. It’s not bad, but Seungmin can’t quite figure out _what_ it is.

“For all eternity, huh?” Seungmin snorts, squeezing Changbin's hand.

“Mmhm.” Changbin falls back into the grass.

“Eternity is a long time.”

“Well, at least we’re spending it together.”

Seungmin looks at Changbin’s profile, from the slope of his glabella to his nose, and along the shape of his lips and the curve of his chin. The moonlight is reflecting off his eyes, turning them a soft golden color. Beautiful isn’t the correct word to describe him. Ethereal, maybe, but even that doesn't do Changbin justice.

“Yeah, together.” He whispers to the stars, and lets his eyes flutter shut.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin shoots up from the pillows with a gasp. The room is unnaturally cold, ice forming in the corners between walls. He shivers, his breaths coming out in short puffs. 

Changbin sleeps peacefully next to him, seeming unbothered by the freezing temperatures. Seungmin reaches out to shake him awake, but thunderous footsteps outside the balcony doors grab his attention. He slides off the bed and hugs himself tightly, padding across the ice-cold floor and throwing open the doors. 

Heat hits him like a wave, washing away the chill from the room and warming his frozen skin. He stumbles towards the balcony railing, gripping it tightly and leaning over to get a better view of the garden. In the center stands a golden dragon, its scales glinting in the moonlight. Its giant claws trample the flowers under it, the glowing flora no longer beautiful.

The dragon sticks its head into one of the windows on the east end of the castle, and smoke rolls out around it. Seungmin can’t see what’s happening, not until he’s launched across the castle to the ballroom. The king, dressed in his armor from his portrait, stands in the middle of it. Dust and smoke float around him, moonlight shining off the silver plating of his armor.

Seungmin moves to take a step towards him, but he’s rooted to the spot. The king doesn’t notice him, instead focusing on the dragon, screaming at him in a language that Seungmin can’t understand. The roof crumbles away to reveal the beast towering over them.

The dragon just chortles, the sound reverberating deep in its chest and echoing around the castle grounds. Seungmin can feel it deep in his own chest, too.

And then time slows as the dragon breathes angry, blue flames at the king. They swallow up the man, and then consume the steps of the castle. It doesn’t take long for the rest of the palace to catch on fire, spreading through the halls. 

“Changbin-” Seungmin gasps. He tries to whip around, tries to run to save his friend. But he can’t. He’s trapped. 

_“Seungmin.”_

His head snaps around again. He makes eye contact with the golden dragon, its gaze seemingly looking right through him, straight through to his core. A jolt of electricity shoots down his spine when the dragon leans in close enough for Seungmin to feel its hot breath on his face. He could touch its snout if he wanted to.

So he does, and he feels his skin burn on contact. It doesn’t hurt, though. If anything, it’s soothing. 

_“Find your fire, Seungmin.”_

  
  
  


_“Seungmin.”_

Light shines through his eyelids.

_“Hey, you awake in there?”_

Hands gently push his body.

_“Come on, sleepyhead.”_

The smell of warm breakfast is what coaxes his eyes open. He’s met with Changbin’s smiling face, the man’s hair a wild mess on his head. He stares at him for a couple of seconds, before groaning and pushing himself up, running a hand over his face.

“Good morning.” Changbin says. He sets a tray of food in his lap before focusing on his own.

“Morning.” Seungmin mumbles and stares at the steaming eggs and bacon on his plate for a while, brow furrowed. He could still _feel_ his dream, but he could only remember bits and pieces. 

The room is quiet, save for Changbin’s silverware clinking against the plate and the sound of his chewing. Seungmin wants to eat, but he really doesn’t have an appetite right now, so he sets his tray on the bedside table and leans back against the pillows with a sigh. 

“No prince duties today?” Seungmin asks softly. 

Changbin pauses, looking over at him. He frowns slightly for a second, presumably because he noticed that Seungmin isn’t eating, judging from the way his eyes dart to the tray momentarily, but then he shakes his head. “Mm, nope. The king is holed up in his study. Has been since last night.”

Seungmin hums and looks towards the balcony doors. Eyes narrowed, he slides off the bed and walks over to the doors, opening them and stepping out onto the balcony to look down into the garden. The flowers are as alive as ever, no trace of a dragon ever having been there in the first place. “Hey, Binnie?”

There’s silence for a moment, and then the bed rustles quietly, and then Changbin appears at his side. Seungmin glances at them, and then averts his gaze to the woods beyond the castle. “Are there dragons in this world?”

“Dragons?” Changbin asks, shocked. He follows Seungmin’s gaze, head tilted, and then shrugs. “I’ve never heard of there being dragons, but I’m not really the man to ask. If you want to know the history of magical creatures in this world, or history in general, then Minho is the guy you need to speak to.”

“Oh, alright.” Seungmin nods absently. 

His dream is slowly coming back to him. The dragon laughing in the king’s face, the way it had looked at him, the feeling it gave him when he touched its scales. He looks at his hands, still feeling the burning sensation itching just under his skin. The dragon’s words still ring loud and clear in his head, but he doesn’t really understand them. He thinks he’s already found his fire, but something tells him the dragon wasn’t just talking about the magic.

“Everything okay?” Changbin frowns, reaching over to rest a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder. 

Seungmin jolts, shocked out of his thoughts. Changbin jumps just slightly as well, his eyes going wide in shock, but then he relaxes as Seungmin exhales. “Sorry – a-and yeah, everything’s okay. Just… trying to make sense of a dream I had.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Changbin offers, but still leaves room for Seungmin to turn him down if he wants.

Seungmin considers the question as he picks at his nails, and then, with a sigh, he shakes his head. “Can we just do something today?”

“Hmm? Like what?” Changbin tilts his head, eyes curious.

With a shrug, Seungmin leans on the railing. “I don’t really mind what we do. Just something to take my mind off of things.”

Changbin doesn't answer right away, turning away as he thinks. Seungmin takes the opportunity to admire him, his hair still sleep mussed and his skin golden where the sun kisses it. His shirt is untied in the front and the wind has blown it off his shoulders a little, exposing his collarbones. Quickly, Seungmin averts his gaze as a heat crawls up his neck; ridding himself of any and all thoughts.

“Well,” Changbin finally breaks the silence. “There’s the beach.” 

Seungmin’s first reaction is borderline excitement, before the realization that it’s far. He doesn’t know if he wants to leave Hyunjin and Jeongin alone. “I don't know…”

“We can just teleport there and back. A couple hours tops. We’ll be back in time for dinner.” Changbin reassures, reaching over to squeeze his forearm gently. “It would be nice to clear our heads, but if you don’t want to, it’s okay.”

“Would it just be us?” Seungmin asks, eyes transfixed on the dancing flowers below. Changbin nods in response, ever patient. Seungmin glances at him, and then at the garden where the dragon had stood in his dream, and then he exhales. “Okay. I could do with a swim, I think.”

Changbin smiles, and in a blink of an eye, they’re standing at the edge of the beach. The sand stretches on for miles on both sides and a cliffside shelters them from behind. The waves are gentle against the shore, a small breeze blowing inland. 

Seungmin glances at Changbin, who’s taking his shoes and clothes off, leaving him in only his boxers. He averts his eyes and does the same, following Changbin down to the water after leaving their clothes in a pile. 

“It’s the perfect temperature,” Changbin says. Seungmin looks over at him, watching the breeze push his bangs off his forehead. “Not too hot, but not too cool.”

“Nice.” Seungmin mumbles, scanning the rest of their surroundings instead. They come to a stop at the waterline, watching the waves wash up, barely reaching their toes. They retreat slowly, leaving behind tiny shells.

Changbin walks past him, and Seungmin just barely gets a glimpse of his bare body before he’s throwing himself into the tide. His head pops up a second later, grinning to himself as he stumbles forward with the current.

Seungmin smiles and takes a couple steps forward before sitting in the wet sand. It sticks to his skin where it makes contact, but the waves wash it away as they come up around him. Changbin's right about the temperature, but honestly, Seungmin figures it wouldn’t really matter. He would make it warm regardless.

“Seungmin,” Changbin calls to get his attention. He looks up to see Changbin chewing on his lip nervously as he sits a couple feet away from Seungmin, as if he’s putting something of a barrier between them. “A couple weeks ago, you asked about my mom.”

“Oh, yeah.” Seungmin nods, a little taken aback. He didn't expect that.

“Right, well…” Changbin pauses, inhales, and then continues. “I never actually… knew her. Or my dad.” A pause, a frown, and then a slow exhale. “Chan, Jisung and I met in an orphanage some years ago. It paid for our education and everything so that’s how we ended up getting into college, but… yeah.” He shrugs. “The only “mother” we had was Miss Kim. She treated us well enough, I suppose. But it was never really home.”

“Oh.” Seungmin mumbles dumbly. “I’m sorry.” 

Changbin chuckles softly as he shakes his head. “Don’t be. It wasn’t a terrible experience, I just… ahh, I don’t know.”

“Changbin,” Seungmin leans forward. His toes sink into the sand. “Are you happy?”

There’s a silence that follows as Changbin averts his gaze to the water as he thinks about the question. “I- Well, I know that Chan and Jisung helped- we all helped each other.” He says, though he looks a little troubled. “Every orphan wishes for a better childhood, but we had each other.”

Seungmin sighs and moves over to Changbin, sitting in front of him and grabbing his hand. He lifts it up so he can press his own against it, just enough so Changbin can feel it. “But are you _happy_?”

“I’m,” Changbin hesitates. He stares at their hands for a long while, a handful of emotions crossing his face, until he finally sighs. “I’m getting there.”

Seungmin shifts his gaze from their hands to look at Changbin, only to find the man already staring at him, expression soft. A smile crosses Seungmin’s face, and Changbin easily mirrors it. “Okay.”

For a moment, Seungmin just looks at him, really looks at him. Changbin’s face was all sharp edges, from the angle of his jaw to the point of his chin, his cupid’s bow, the way his lips turned up in a smile. All except his eyes. 

God, his eyes. He never really realized just how beautiful they were, like two pools of honey as the sun hits them just right. Seungmin just wanted to fall into them, explore the depths waiting for him. 

All of Changbin is beautiful, in a funny sort of way. He isn’t attractive like he just walked out of a magazine, like Hyunjin. He isn’t attractive in a dark sort of way, like Minho or Chan. He isn’t attractive in a cute sort of way, like Jisung and Felix and Jeongin. He’s attractive in an entirely unique and funny way, with his sharp edges and soft eyes and lopsided smile. 

He doesn’t like the strange feeling in his stomach.

Changbin tilts his head, and then a mischievous glint flashes in his eyes. He reaches up to gently brush Seungmin’s hair back off his forehead, momentarily distracting him, before he’s picking up Seungmin in one quick motion. Seungmin yells out in surprise as Changbin carefully tosses him into the water with a laugh.

Seungmin gasps when he hits the water, barely having a chance to hold his breath before he’s submerged. When he resurfaces and brushes his now-wet hair out of his face, he shoots a laughing Changbin a glare and splashes the water in his direction. Changbin squeaks, scrambling backwards before both of them are laughing.

“You’re such an ass sometimes.” Seungmin says between laughs, his words having no bite. 

“Yeah, but you love it.” Changbin giggles, and runs after Seungmin. He shrieks and takes off down the shore, laughter mixing with the sounds of the ocean. 

A sense of peace settles in Seungmin’s heart as he and Changbin play together, splashing in the waves and chasing each other across the shoreline. They sit together after a while, once the sun starts to set, and chat about the future, the present, and the past. 

They’re so caught up in each other, they don’t notice the figure watching from the cliffs.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“And just like that, you're dead again.” Changbin scolds as Seungmin trips over his foot. When he turns to look up at his friend, he’s met with the point of the practice sword mere centimeters from his face.

“You’re not making it easy!” Seungmin exclaims. 

They’re training again, since it’s been a week since the king even spoke to Changbin. Neither of them really know what's going on, why he’s been absent, but they don’t really care either. It just means they get more time to themselves.

“Your opponent isn’t going to go easy on you, Seungmin.” Changbin says, picking up the sword he had knocked out of Seungmin’s hands and holds it out to him. “So I’m not going to either.”

Seungmin scowls and takes the sword before pushing himself up, once again assuming his position as Changbin considers his stance. “You could go a little easy on me.”

Changbin doesn’t answer as he walks around Seungmin, shifting his feet to give him more balance, straightening his back, lifting his head up. Finally, he comes to a stop behind him, bending his arm just enough to take the tension out of it. 

Changbin’s hand grips his wrist lightly, his face hovering centimeters from his own. Seungmin can feel the warmth of Changbin’s body on his skin as he gently massages the inside of his wrist. “don’t think of the sword as a weapon, but rather an extension of your arm. Be one with it, not one using it.” He says softly, his breath ghosting over Seungmin’s ear. 

A shiver runs down his spine.

“Changbin,” Seungmin whispers, glancing at his friend out of the corner of his eyes. “You’re awfully close.”

Quietly, Changbin looks at him. Their gazes meet for just a moment, but it’s a moment too long—especially when Changbin’s eyes flicker down ever so slightly. Seungmin opens his mouth to say something more, Changbin leans ever closer, and Seungmin doesn’t know how to react.

The sound of his practice sword clattering against the ground startles both of them and Changbin jumps away from Seungmin. Seungmin averts his gaze as his face heats up and wordlessly takes the sword when Changbin hands it to him, immediately lowering into position.

“We’ll just run through it one more time and call it quits for the day.” Changbin says, tapping his practice sword against Seungmin’s twice before lowering his body. He holds his hand behind his back and points his sword at Seungmin, straight at his heart, and smiles. “If you knock me down, I’ll let you have my fruit bowl for dinner tonight.”

Seungmin perks up at that. With a determined smile, he readjusts his grip on the sword and makes sure his weight is balanced properly. Changbin laughs, and the sound momentarily distracts Seungmin, making his heart flutter weirdly in his chest. 

Changbin’s expression shifts, and he’s taking advantage of Seungmin’s momentary distraction to charge him. Their swords clack together loudly as Seungmin struggles to stay upright with Changbin backing him up so easily. 

“Look for an opening, Seungmin!” Changbin yells. He swipes at Seungmin’s legs, just barely missing him when Seungmin jumps out of the way, and as Changbin spins around to try and get a better advantage, Seungmin swings his own sword and catches Changbin’s side. They both stop for a moment, chests heaving, and then Changbin laughs. “Better!”

Seungmin giggles, reaching up to cover his face with one hand. He sometimes forgets how nice praise makes him feel.

His feet fly out from under him. With a shriek, he falls backwards, his head hitting the earth painfully. His sword flies out of his hand as another is in his face, the point staring him down. He shoots a glare at Changbin, pushing himself up onto his elbow and rubbing the back of his head. “Asshole.”

“Never let your guard down.” Changbin says matter-of-factly, and holds his other hand out for Seungmin to take.

Grumbling, Seungmin pulls himself up with Changbin’s help, brushing off his butt and shirt when he’s on his feet. “There goes my extra fruit.”

“I’ll give you half.” Changbin pats his shoulder before grabbing Seungmin’s sword to put them away.

Seungmin gapes at him. “Really?”

Changbin tosses the swords into the shed and returns to Seungmin, standing in front of him, reaching up to ruffle his hair to get the dust and dirt out of it. “Really.” He repeats, and then with a grimace, he lifts Seungmin’s arms up. “You need a bath.”

“You don’t exactly smell like roses yourself.” Seungmin huffs, yanking his arms away from Changbin.

With a laugh, Changbin grabs his hand and blips them back to his room. Seungmin stumbles just slightly, his weary body not happy with the sudden change of scenery. 

Changbin quickly catches him, making sure he’s steady, before nodding towards the bathroom. “There should be a bath already drawn. You go first.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“If there’s one thing I miss from Earth, it’s hot showers.” Changbin says as he steps out of the bathroom an hour later.

Seungmin looks up from his spot propped against the pillows on the bed, and almost drops his book at the sight of a shirtless Changbin drying his hair in the middle of the room. He blinks a couple of times before looking away so Changbin doesn’t catch him staring. 

“My bathroom at my dad’s house was a shower-bath combo and the bathtub had jets, it was heaven.” He says with a small smile.

“That sounds like it’s literally the best thing ever.” Changbin groans. He tosses the towel on his head at the bathroom door before throwing himself onto the bed, still shirtless.

Seungmin bookmarks his page and sets the book to the side, looking over at Changbin’s bare back. The markings are glowing ever so slightly, like the light is pulsing through them, buried deep beneath the skin. He wants to reach out and touch them, but he decides he probably shouldn’t. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “What are those tattoos?”

Changbin's shoulders tense, and Seungmin worries he overstepped a boundary. After a few, suffocating moments of silence, Changbin slowly pushes himself up into a sitting position and turns with his back facing Seungmin. “They’re from the Tower.” 

“Oh,” Seungmin breathes, leaning forward just slightly. 

Changbin looks at him over his shoulder, before reaching around to grab his wrist and guide it to his back, giving him permission to touch. Slowly, Seungmin glides his fingers over the markings. They feel inhumanly cold to the touch. Seungmin wonders if Changbin can feel how cold they are.

As if to answer his question, Changbin shivers. “I haven’t felt warmth there in ages,” He whispers, his head hanging between his shoulders. “Don’t stop.”

“Okay.” Seungmin nods, and keeps tracing the lines. “What happened?”

“The Tower left them as a reminder.” Changbin sighs, picking at a loose string on his pants. Seungmin watches goosebumps rise on his skin under his touch. “Since I didn’t die, the markings serve as a reminder that even if it doesn’t have me completely, it will always have a hold on me in one way or another. You’d think the scars would be enough, but…”

“Do they hurt?” Seungmin rests his hands flat on Changbin’s back and leans forward to look at him over his shoulder. 

“Not really. They’re just… always cold - so cold they’re numb sometimes.” Changbin shrugs, and then looks over at Seungmin. Their faces are close – too close. “You’re making them warm, though.”

“I tend to do that.” Seungmin whispers.

“Yeah,” Changbin nods, his eyes hooded. “You do.”

Seungmin’s heart stutters, and he quickly pulls back, resuming his ministrations on Changbin’s back. His cheeks feel as warm as Changbin’s back now.

With a sigh, Changbin leans back on his hands, closing his eyes. “Do you miss Earth? Do you miss _home?”_

_Yes,_ Seungmin wants to say, but the more he thinks about it, he realizes that wouldn't be the whole truth. He misses the memories, and his dad, but as a whole? Not that much. He feels more free in this world than he ever did on Earth. So, he shakes his head in response to Changbin’s question. “Not really. There are some things I miss, but… I prefer it here, I think. The only things tying me down there were my friends, my dad and… I don’t know, my job, I guess?”

“Character development!” Changbin exclaims and throws himself at Seungmin, hugging him tightly. Seungmin cries out in surprise, arms and legs splayed out like a starfish as he stares at Changbin, wide-eyed.

“Changbin!” He squeaks as his friend laughs, pressing his cheek against his chest.

“I’m just so proud of you, Seungminnie.” Changbin murmurs. He sounds tired.

Despite his face heating up, Seungmin scoots down so he’s laying on the pillows properly and hugs Changbin close, trailing a hand down his back, tracing the lines of the tattoos again. “Thank you.” 

Changbin shifts slightly, wrapping his arms more securely around Seungmin’s torso. “Anytime.”

Seungmin stares at him, smiling at the way the dim light from the fireplace reflects off of his features, casting a soft orange glow over him. Hesitantly, he reaches up and trails a finger along the bridge of Changbin’s nose, watching his eyelids flutter against his cheekbones. 

He smells like woodsmoke and pine. 

“Goodnight, Changbin.” He whispers, and closes his eyes to allow sleep to finally pull him under.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


A week passes, and Changbin spends most of it with the queen, which gives Seungmin some time to practice his magic on his own. He enlisted Hyunjin’s help most of the time, since his friend's presence was calming while he did his best to work _with_ his magic, like Hyunjin had advised, but it was proving to be easier said than done.

“Okay, okay, okay,” Hyunjin waves his hands a little in the air between them as Seungmin almost buckled over from the over exertion again. “Show me the light… glass, arm thingy again. It seemed like that was easier for you.”

Seungmin takes a deep breath and nods, holding his arms out in front of him. He inhales deeply, focusing his energy from his core to his arms. The light in the room centers on him as he closes his eyes, and it’s only a second later that he feels the magic enveloping his arms. He opens his eyes when Hyunjin claps excitedly at the sight of Seungmin’s arms glittering in the sunlight filtering through the balcony doors. He flexes his fingers, smiling softly to himself.

“Quick, how are you feeling?” Hyunjin asks, picking up the notebook next to him. That was another thing, Hyunjin had started taking notes on Seungmin’s physical and mental state when he used his magic, trying to see if the two were correlated in any way.

(Seungmin knew they were, deep down, but he refused to admit it to himself.)

“Um,” Seungmin pauses. He could feel the magic beginning to waver, and he was getting flashes of that day on the road years ago, of the dogs chasing him and his friends, of the nightmares he’s been having. Quickly, he shakes his head, trying to focus on anything else, but he’s speaking before he can stop himself. “Hurts-”

“Seungmin, okay- stop.” Hyunjin sighs, dropping the notebook and grabbing his hand. Immediately, Seungmin lets the magic drain from his arms, going from active to dormant once more, and he slumps forward into Hyunjin’s arms. “We really need to figure out what to do about this. What do you think about when you're using your magic?”

Seungmin just shakes his head, keeping his face hidden away in Hyunjin’s chest. He didn’t want to talk about it. Not yet.

Hyunjin pulls him closer, wrapping his arms around him tightly, allowing Seungmin to relax against him. “Maybe we should talk to Changbin.” Hyunjin murmurs, running his fingers through Seungmin’s hair.

“No-” Seungmin quickly shakes his head, tightening his grip on Hyunjin’s shirt. “He doesn’t need to worry about this.”

“Seungmin.” Hyunjin huffs, pushing Seungmin back to meet his eyes. “He _should_ know about this. I mean, you two are… connected, so I feel like this would start affecting him too.”

Honestly, Seungmin hadn’t thought about that. He chews on his bottom lip nervously, considering Hyunjin’s words. He really doesn't want to worry Changbin, but Hyunjin’s right. Changbin could, possibly, be affected. 

“Okay,” Seungmin nods. “If — _If,_ this keeps up, I’ll tell him. I promise.”

Hyunjin narrows his eyes at him. Seungmin meets his gaze levelly, letting his friend search for any sign of a lie. Finally, Hyunjin sighs and pats his cheeks, satisfied. “Alright, alright. Until then,” He says as he pulls Seungmin to his feet. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

“Stay with me?” Seungmin sighs, brushing himself off.

Hyunjin nods and helps him over to the bed, throwing the covers back for him. Seungmin shoos his hands away, kicking his boots off and throwing himself onto the bed with a groan. “Stop acting like you’re my actual servant, Hyunjin. You’re my best friend.”

“Of course, of course.” Hyunjin laughs, helping to pull the covers up over Seungmin as he settles into the mattress, already on the edge of sleep. “I’ll tell Changbin to wake you up when he comes back. Have a nice nap, best friend.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  


“ _Seungmiiinn_ ,” 

He groans, pushing his face into the pillow.

_“Come on, sleepy head.”_

He peeks one eye open, Changbin’s smiling face staring down at him, and he immediately feels his body relax. “What?”

“The king has still not left his study, so I thought I would show you the palace - well, the places you haven't already seen.” He explains as he tugs on Seungmin’s hand. “Come on.”

“You won’t take no for an answer, will you?” Seungmin sighs, but sits up anyways. Maybe they could find something useful.

“If you really don’t want to, I will.” Changbin says, smoothing some of Seungmin’s sleep mussed hair down. “But something tells me you’re fine with it.”

“Stay out of my head,” Seungmin grumbles, but there’s no bite to it.

He dresses in cleaner clothes, and he and Changbin slip out of the room hand in hand. Changbin tells bits of trivia about the different halls, the architecture of the palace, anything he’s found from his time in the library. It’s nice to just listen to him talk.

They pass some of the castle staff, but Seungmin doesn’t feel unsafe in seeing them. Some of them even wave, happy smiles on their faces. It’s when they come across guards that Seungmin worries, but all he has to do is trail behind Changbin, head bowed and eyes cast down. The guards don’t pay enough attention to tell the difference between servant and imposter. Still, he’s nervous.

Pacing the halls of the palace is… strange, for Seungmin. It feels familiar, like something from a memory. It’s like he knows when to turn and how to reach rooms that Changbin wants to show him before his friend even has the chance to show him the way. He almost thinks he hears a name he doesn’t recognize called, but he knows it’s calling for him, but when he turns to look, there’s no one there. 

They reach the ballroom eventually, and Changbin moves to keep going after explaining the history of it, but Seungmin stays rooted to the spot. He remembers his dream, feels a pull to the dusty room beyond. 

“Seungmin?” Changbin’s voice sounds distant.

Wordlessly, Seungmin pulls away from Changbin and walks over to the doors, running his hand across the cool wood. Then, he glances over his shoulder at his confused friend. “How about a dance?”

The air inside the ballroom is still, dust hanging on the walls and swirling around the pair as they displace it. The walls are painted with flowers, and every few inches is a wooden piece with gold-painted swirling designs carved into it. Unlit candelabras line the walls, long untouched. Two giant chandeliers hang from the ceiling, the diamonds glittering in what little natural light is filtering in.

“How long has it been since this room has been used?” Seungmin questions, looking down at the dust covered floor. 

“A very long time.” Changbin sighs, running his fingers across the wall. “If the ball happens though, it’ll be alive once more.”

Seungmin has a nagging thought that the ball _won’t_ happen. It just doesn’t seem like the king is very keen on letting any outsiders into his walls with his plans on the horizon. With a sigh, Seungmin lifts his gaze to meet Changbin’s eyes, and he can tell that his friend feels the same. He wonders what this means for them. 

“For tonight,” Changbin says, crossing the room to stand in front of Seungmin. “What do you say we bring it to life?”

Seungmin tilts his head, a chuckle leaving his lips as Changbin bows and extends his hand. He spares another glance around the room, eyeing the candelabras, and then tries to focus his energy to light them. It takes a moment, and an aching in his chest, for flames to burst in them and cast the room in a soft, orange glow. 

He takes Changbin’s hand. “I’d be delighted.”

Changbin’s smile is enough to warm his heart. His friend kisses the back of his hand before standing up straight and pulling him into the middle of the room. He’s never _liked_ slow dancing before, but he could make an exception for Changbin. A hand finds its way to his waist as his hand plants itself on the other’s shoulder, and Changbin takes the lead, which Seungmin is grateful for.

“You’re practically glowing, Seungmin.” Changbin says as they spin around the dusty room.

Seungmin cocks his head to the side. “Yeah?”

Changbin nods, smiling, as he pulls Seungmin closer to himself by a fraction. “It suits you.”

A flush crawls up Seungmin’s neck and spreads across his face as he averts his gaze downwards. “Yeah, well… I’m having fun.” He mumbles. “It’s nice to get away from the books and the room for awhile. I was really starting to get stressed out with my- my magic, and all the deadends.” He knows he’s rambling, but something about the moment was making his mind run wild. “This is _nice._ I think it’s just what I needed.”

“What we both needed.” Changbin remarks, and his hand slides off his side to rest on his back. The gesture is so much more intimate than Seungmin would've thought, and it has his cheeks warming even more. He’s pretty sure they could catch on fire any second now.

“Thank you.” He whispers into the space between them. He's not sure where this is coming from.

“What for?”

“For being my friend.” Seungmin says. “For… for being patient with me. I know it’s not easy.”

“You really are so dense sometimes,” Changbin sighs, his expression dropping just slightly. And then, he breathes a soft chuckle at the look of confusion on Seungmin’s face and adds, “I don’t care how hard or easy it is, I’m always going to be patient with you. I’m always going to be _here_ for you.”

“Me too.” Seungmin answers instantly. “No matter what happens, I’m always going to be here for you too. We're in this together, right?”

Changbin doesn't answer right away, his eyes searching Seungmin’s face. Seungmin almost thinks his eyes linger a moment longer on his lips, but he writes it off as a trick of a light. His heart doesn’t get the memo, but he ignores it. He’s not ready to face that yet.

Finally, Changbin’s face softens, and his smile is so full of admiration it almost makes Seungmin melt. “Yeah,” Changbin says. “Together.”

It's then that Seungmin realizes they’ve long since stopped dancing, once again standing in the center of the ballroom, all wrapped up in each other. He moves to step away, cheeks hotter than ever, when Changbin’s grip on him tightens. He looks at him in confusion, but Changbin’s expression is alert as he scans the area, and then his eyes land on the doors. Seungmin spots it too, the shadow of footsteps under the door. 

“I think that’s our cue.” Changbin whispers. Seungmin nods and manages to put out the fires, watching the door handle turn, and the scene change as Changbin blips them back to the room, his landing messier than usual.

It takes a second more for Seungmin to realize that Changbin had fallen on top of him, and when Changbin pushes himself up, their eyes meet. A beat passes, and then both huff out laughs of relief, Changbin’s head hanging between his shoulders and Seungmin’s head thumps back against the floor.

“Shit,” Changbin breathes, carefully picking himself up off of Seungmin and holding a hand out to help him up as well.

“Agreed.” Seungmin laughs and pulls himself to his feet with Changbin’s help. 

Changbin sighs and brushes dust off of himself and then Seungmin, before he unbuttons his vest and tosses it aside, pulling the strings tying his collar together and letting the front of his shirt hang open. Seungmin does the same for himself.

They find their way into the bed some minutes later, laying side by side, their pinkies barely touching on top of the sheets. Seungmin stares at the ceiling above their heads, and a smile crosses his face as a fond memory comes to mind. “I have glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling back home.” He whispers.

“Yeah?” Changbin looks over at him. 

Seungmin shifts onto his side to see his friend better, and Changbin follows his lead. Seungmin watches his hand slide up his wrist and lace their fingers together as he nods. “I’ve always loved the stars. Loved the idea of there being a whole universe out there beyond the atmosphere.” He says. “Even before I knew of the existence of the realms and the paintings and all of… this.”

“When did you learn about it all?” Changbin asks.

“When I was six.” Seungmin’s smile falters just slightly. “I don’t even know what exactly compelled me to fall through the painting, but it’s like one second, I’m listening to the museum tour guide drawl on about the art, and the next, I’m stumbling through the forest.”

Changbin squeezes his hand. “What happened while you were there- here? In the forest.”

Seungmin freezes, his body tensing as the memories of thundering hooves, smoke filled masks, and red-eyed steeds flash through his mind. He pushes his face into the pillows, curling in on himself just a little. He doesn’t know why, despite all those years, and everything else that’s happened, it’s _that_ day that still affects him so badly.

“It’s okay,” Changbin reassures, his free hand coming up to card through Seungmin’s hair. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

“I-” Seungmin hesitates. He peeks an eye open to look at Changbin, and then scoots slightly closer, reaching up with his free hand to rest it on the side of Changbin’s head. “I’ll just show you instead.”

Changbin’s eyes scan his face before Seungmin slowly trails the pads of his fingers over the man’s eyelids to close them, returning his hand to his head afterwards. Changbin exhales slowly, his body relaxing with the sigh, and Seungmin follows his lead as he focuses on channeling his memories to Changbin’s mind.

It’s relieving, he decides as Changbin’s hand tightens around his own, to share this with someone else after having kept it to himself for so long.

He can feel the memories flashing through his head, can feel the dozens of hooves against the earth and the glares of the red eyes boring into his skin and the gloved hands on his arms pulling him out of the way just before he’s trampled. He hates it. He hates it so much.

“Seungmin,” Changbin breathes when Seungmin finally retracts his hand. They open their eyes to look at each other. “I’m so sorry. That must have been terrifying.”

“It was.” Seungmin whispers, and Changbin wraps his arm around his waist to draw him closer. 

“I’ve got you.” Changbin reassures, his voice so soft it's barely a whisper. “I’m never going to let you go.”

“Promise?” Seungmin asks, reaching up to grip the front of Changbin’s shirt. “Promise you’ll never let go?”

“Seungmin,” Changbin gently pushes him back so he can look at him. “We’re in this together. Even if the whole world is against us. I’m not going anywhere.”

Seungmin searches Changbin’s face, looking for any sign of a lie, and a sense of warmth spreads through him when he finds none. He holds his hand up between them, pinkie extended, and Changbin doesn’t hesitate to link his own with it. “Together.” Seungmin affirms, and Changbin smiles so brightly.

Seungmin sleeps peacefully that night, wrapped up in Changbin’s arms, with the smell of woodsmoke and pine to comfort him, and his pinkie linked with Changbin’s.

When he wakes up in the morning, Changbin is still there, holding onto him as tight as ever.

Maybe, Seungmin thinks, _maybe things can be okay._ Not perfect, but _okay._

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Hyunjin!” Seungmin exclaims as soon as his friend appears in the doorway. “Great, just who I needed.”

“What for?” Hyunjin asks, setting the tray of food on the little table next to the fireplace. “Where’s Changbin?”

“With the queen, I think.” Seungmin answers absently. He stands in the sunlight coming through the balcony doors, testing the light magic he had been working with as of late. He could make his arms invisible now, which was a step in the right direction. “I want to go back to that secret room that he and I found a while ago.”

“And what do you need me for?” Hyunjin sounds confused, but intrigued, as he leans against the bedposts and crosses his arms.

“I um…” Seungmin frowns, letting his arms lower slowly. “I need you to come with me. I don’t like being down there alone.”

Hyunjin looks a little shocked, but smiles regardless as he walks over to Seungmin and squeezes his hands. “Well, let’s go, then.” He says. “I’ve been waiting to go exploring with you.”

“Please try to take this somewhat seriously.” Seungmin sighs, rolling his eyes, but a smile threatens to win anyways.

“I will do my best.” Hyunjin vows solemnly, holding a hand over his heart to emphasize his point. 

“Let’s go, silly.” Seungmin scoffs and detaches from Hyunjin, crossing the room to the door, Hyunjin in tow.

The walk to the lower levels is mostly quiet, save for the sound of their boots against the marble steps and red rugs, leaving Seungmin to his thoughts. He doesn’t really like it, especially because he's not used to Hyunjin being _this_ quiet. His friend always had something to say, whether it was to lighten the mood or stand his ground. Seungmin liked that about him.

“You’re quiet.” Seungmin comments, glancing at Hyunjin.

“You told me to be serious.” His friend answers instantly.

Seungmin frowns, nudging his friend’s with his shoulder. “When have you ever actually listened to that?”

With a sigh, Hyunjin’s hand slips from his back to twine with Seungmin’s, squeezing gently. Seungmin's concern only increases as his friend stares at the ground thoughtfully, eyebrows drawn together in thinly veiled frustration.

“I’m worried.” Hyunjin says, finally. “About you, and Changbin, and… and Jeongin. I mean, what happens when the big fight comes? Yeji and Ryujin can only train Jeongin and I so much, can only prepare us so much. I mean- we could very possibly go to _war,_ Seungmin.” He stops. Seungmin stops too, meeting his friend's teary eyes. “I’m scared.”

“You’d be a fool if you weren’t.” Seungmin murmurs. He grabs Hyunjin’s other hand, squeezing it gently. He’s not _great_ with comforting people, but he’s learning, slowly, from Changbin. “I’m scared too – terrified, really. So is Changbin, and everyone else. We’re going up against an opponent that we know… nothing about. I mean, this man was _extremely_ thorough in erasing any information on himself.” He tries to keep his tone light, to keep the mood from darkening into something worse, but it’s hard. “I’d say it’s impressive if it wasn’t so damn frustrating.”

Hyunjin snorts, despite the tears in his eyes, and he squeezes Seungmin’s hands. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“So let’s see if we can finally get a step ahead of this guy.” Seungmin moves backwards a step, pulling Hyunjin with him. “That would be kind of amazing, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, fuck the king.” Hyunjin nods firmly. 

“Fuck the king!” Seungmin laughs, and Hyunjin laughs with him.

  
  
  


Hyunjin does _not_ like tight spaces, Seungmin learns, as he guides his friend down the small hallway that led to the secret room. He’s somewhat surprised and irritated with himself for not knowing that about his friend despite having grown up with him, but when he tries to rack his brain for any memory of them ever being forced into a situation with tight spaces, he finds none. 

When they come across the door, Seungmin understands the symbol carved into its surface a little more this time, he just doesn’t know _what_ it means. He just knows it’s everywhere in the memories he’s been experiencing since he saw it last time.

The room is a mess when they step into it. Like someone absolutely trashed it. The tapestry is torn, statues are shattered, books are ripped apart. Seungmin guesses that the king realized things were missing and threw a bit of a tantrum. 

“Was it this… messy, last time you were here?” Hyunjin asks, pulling away from Seungmin and kneeling next to some of the books and discarded pages in hopes of finding something of use. Seungmin creates a burst of sparks to illuminate the room.

“Well, it wasn’t _neat,_ but no, it wasn't trashed.” Seungmin sighs. He walks over to the statues, picking up one the heads and gently brushing off the face. The expression immortalized in the stone looks terrified, and Seungmin feels a tug in his heart as he gently sets it back down next to what he assumes is its body. 

“Find any books that aren’t ripped up, any pages. Anything that might help.” Seungmin instructs as he scans the walls, running his fingers over them. Some of the lights he created follow him, illuminating his path.

Hyunjin is quiet for a long time, the only sound telling Seungmin that he’s still here being his shuffling as he collects as much as he can. Then, he falls silent entirely, and Seungmin frowns as he looks in his friend’s direction. He can barely make out his silhouette illuminated by the dim glow from his magic.

“Seungmin,” Hyunjin calls, flipping a couple of pages of the book in his hand. “This book says your name a lot.”

Seungmin hesitates. The last book he found with his name in it had been the journal, and the energy that came off of it was not kind. Still, he forces himself to join Hyunjin, kneeling next to him as the boy sets the book on the ground for them both to see. Seungmin concentrates most of the light over the book.

“See, it even calls you ‘King Seungmin’.” Hyunjin points to the text. Seungmin doesn't like the weird tingle he feels go down his spine. “And there’s a chapter for Chunghee.”

“There is?” Seungmin is much more interested in that. Hyunjin nods and flips back to the first page of the chapter.

It feels like hours pass as they scour the books strewn through the room. Most of it was about jumper history and Issinet history, and anything they read on the king was mostly just the same information over and over — that he was a tyrant, that he lied to his people, that he was a horrible man over all. Some of them even called him a terrible father, for letting his son be kidnapped straight from his cradle — but as per usual, none of it was _useful._ Not really. They couldn’t find any weaknesses or anything, but granted, the authors of the books probably didn’t know the king that well, anyways.

“Why do we keep hitting dead ends?” Seungmin groans, tossing the book in his hands to the floor.

“Maybe you need to get close to the king, somehow.” Hyunjin shrugs. “I could sneak you into the dinner staff tonight.”

“Changbin would kill me if the king didn’t catch me first.” Seungmin scowls, flopping back against the hard stone floor. “And don’t say I could be inconspicuous, Changbin would know.”

“The king wouldn’t.” Hyunjin sets his book down. “And you and Changbin have that weird psychic thing. You could just explain to him that way.”

“Have you heard anything from your time as a servant?” Seungmin asks.

“Well,” Hyunjin stands up, slowly walking around the room. Seungmin focuses on him, as does most of the light, keeping his friend illuminated. “I may not be able to _use_ magic, but Jinyoung explained what the feeling of other jumpers’ energies is, and the king’s energy is… well, strong — wait,” He pauses, and Seungmin can just see a lightbulb go off above his head.

“It’s strong, just like yours and Changbin’s.” Hyunjin says, slowly, and then he averts his gaze to the ground. “Remember that chapter we read, in “Secrets of the Royal Family, volume 2”, that talked about how Chunghee was much older than he looks? That he-”

“He’s been stuck in time for over 100 years.” Seungmin shoots up from his spot on the floor. “Shit, Hyunjin.”

“What if he was like you and Changbin?” Hyunjin walks over to Seungmin, kneeling in front of him. “What if he was chosen, just like you?”

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm :) *rubs hands together*
> 
> see you next week !
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


	5. shadows

_a king with no crown._

“Seungmin, where the hell were you–” Changbin exclaims when Hyunjin and Seungmin burst into the bedroom. Seungmin pays him no mind, making a bee-line for the stack of books next to the wardrobe. 

“Seungmin-!” Changbin huffs, but Hyunjin shushes him as he sets the stack of books they brought back on the velvet chair. 

Seungmin carelessly tosses a couple books aside from the other stack until he gets the journal, and he drops it in the middle of the room, following it down. Hyunjin guides a confused Changbin over to Seungmin, both of them kneeling in front of him.

Seungmin wastes no time in flipping the journal open to the first entry, and frustration bubbles up inside of him when he remembers it's in a different language.

“Wait-” Changbin says, and then he’s blipping out of the room. Hyunjin and Seungmin stare at each other in confusion, but shrug. This wasn’t a new occurrence, afterall.

Changbin returns minutes later, dropping a heavy book on the ground. “Universal book of languages.”

“Oh,” Seungmin blinks. “Smart.”

“You sound shocked, Seungmin.” Changbin smirks as he settles on the floor again. “I have good ideas, too.”

“I know that!” Seungmin hisses, his cheeks burning in embarrassment when his friends snicker in unison. “I hate you both.”

“What are we doing, anyways?” Changbin asks when Seungmin stands to get his notebook and pencil so he can translate the journal.

“I had a theory,” Hyunjin begins, a little hesitantly. “The king’s energy is similar to yours and Seungmin’s. I’m not sure if you’re able to feel it, because I don’t really know how the energy works for you two versus the rest of us—”

“I can really only feel his energy. Sometimes I can’t tell where my energy ends and Seungmin’s begins,” Changbin interjects. “It’s like it’s constantly working in unison, but…” He trails off, and Seungmin can feel his gaze burning into his skin. “Seungmin’s has been out of rhythm lately.”

“Has it, now?” Hyunjin asks, though his tone sounds edged.

“Can you just tell him your theory, Hyunjin?” Seungmin mutters, returning to his spot on the floor and flipping open the language book so he can set to work on translating the entry.

“Right,” Hyunjin huffs, “Anyways, the king’s energy feels very similar to you and Seungmin. I… wondered if maybe, he was… like you two.”

“Actually, that would explain why I feel a sort of… connection to the man.” Changbin murmurs. Seungmin pauses writing, looking up at his friend with a frown. “I thought it was because of the Tower, since he’s been there too, but… now I’m wondering if maybe-”

“Should we be doing this?” Hyunjin interjects, gesturing to the notebook. “What if we find something we don’t like?”

“We don’t have a choice.” Seungmin shakes his head and puts his pencil to the paper again. “We have to stop him, even if it means uncovering things that could… have bad consequences.” He looks in Changbin’s direction when he says that. A small part of him worries that this could negatively affect Changbin. According to their _destiny,_ Changbin could very well be considered a ticking time bomb, one Seungmin desperately didn’t want to set off.

“Seungmin’s right.” Changbin agrees. “Even if- Even if the consequences are bad.”

_You know._ Seungmin thinks with a frown. 

_I know._ Changbin’s voice rings through his head. He meets Seungmin’s eyes with a sad smile. _We’ll be okay, though._

So Seungmin nods, and finishes translating the first entry, Changbin and Hyunjin hovering over him in anticipation.

  
  
  


**_March 3rd, 1934 (I think?); Issinet Realm_ **

_I found this journal the other day, while searching an abandoned town down the road. I figured it might be nice to write things down, sort my thoughts. Maybe someday, someone will find this and know my story._

_I’ve been here for 3 years. The town is nice, quiet, but food is scarce and the hunting parties return empty handed more often than not. We’re trying to rebuild, but it’s not working as best as we’d hoped._

_Most of us are sick, the children and elderly suffering with terrible fevers. It’s terrifying, and I feel powerless. I used to be able to fix that, to fix them, but I can’t anymore._

_I miss music. I miss dancing with the townspeople. I miss the balls they would throw in our honor. I miss a lot of things. It’s funny, the things you tend to remember when you’ve lost any and all hope. I still wonder why I’m waking up every morning._

_Sometimes, late at night, we can hear strange noises coming from the wastelands. They keep me awake, but not out of fear, instead from curiosity. I wonder if they’re calling to me, if they can feel me calling out to them._

_It’s been 3 years since I lost her. Three years since I fucked things up. I haven’t been able to go home, and I can hear the Tower whispering to me._

_Maybe I should go._

_— S.C.H_

  
  
  


“S.C.H.” Hyunjin reads off, running his finger over the initials. “Seo Chunghee.”

“So it’s his journal.” Changbin confirms.

“Onto the next entry, then?” Seungmin sighs. His friends nod.

The next entry was written a month later, and it told nothing interesting aside from a very detailed retelling of a party that the little town had. 

It wasn’t until they were months into the entries, and the sun had almost finished its path through the sky, orange beams of light casting the room in a reddish glow, did they finally find something of intrigue. The king had, in fact, visited the Tower. Had suffered its torment, however the three of them had figured that out for themselves the second Changbin mentioned it. 

There was a person the entries mentioned a lot, but never by name. Chunghee always seemed to miss her, to regret whatever happened, but he never specified _what_ happened to her. He had also mentioned Minho a couple of times throughout some of his entries, but he seemed particularly averse to him.

(“I’d say he’s mourning a lost friendship more than he’s averse to him, than anything.” Changbin had stated at one point. “I mean, “ _I still regret what happened with Minho, but I did what I had to. It’s not my fault he couldn’t see that_ ”. Maybe they were friends.”

“Or lovers.” Hyunjin shrugged.

Seungmin frowned. “Or maybe they were nothing. Maybe they’ve always hated each other.”

“You forget, Seungmin,” Changbin tutted. “The king wasn’t always the man he is today.”)

“So if he’s been to the Tower, what does that tell us? Since that seems to be the only useful thing in here.” Seungmin asks, setting his pencil down.

“Aside from that person he keeps mentioning.” Hyunjin points out. “I think he might’ve loved her once.”

“And he knew Minho.” Seungmin gestures to their notes, to the little tally they were keeping of how many times Minho’s name was said. So far, they were at 56. “But I mean, there’s nothing in here so far that proves our theory.”

“He can tap into the Tower’s magic.” Changbin answers.

“Wait-” Hyunjin waves his hands, confusion etched into his features. “He can _what?”_

“Oh, yeah,” Changbin laughs, a little sheepishly. “Anyone who has been taken by the Tower can tap into it’s magic. I’m… not really sure _how_ it works, Minho doesn’t talk about it that often, but his magic comes directly from the Tower.”

“Fuck,” Seungmin groans. “Well, that makes this whole thing a hell of a lot harder for us.”

“Minho can dreamwalk.” Changbin says. “I think I should find him and talk to him about this. See if he can provide any sort of help.”

“Will you be able to do that?” Seungmin frowns.

“We have to try.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Days pass, and days turn into weeks, and Changbin has no luck in contacting Minho. Eventually, they have no choice but to leave the lead alone for now and spend their time flipping through books and searching the castle, leaving no stone unturned. Eventually the weeks become a month, leaving them with only a month to the ball.

Seungmin tries not to pay attention to how fast time is flying by, and instead focuses on the nights spent tangled in Changbin’s arms, quiet memories of home shared in the space between them as a way to comfort each other, or the free days spent training or roaming the grounds or practicing their magic separately. Seungmin had all but given up on scouring the ever growing pile of books in the corner of the room for anything he might've missed, simply accepting the fact that his research would only be met with more dead ends at this point. 

However, he has grown to admire Changbin more and more as time passed. He liked watching him when his friend was unaware, like when he’s sleeping, his bare chest rising and falling, scars on full display, as if he’s letting Seungmin in. Or when he’s reading by the fireplace late at night or early in the mornings when the king doesn’t require his presence, or on the balcony as the sun sets, setting the sky on fire and turning Changbin golden.

He likes it when Changbin smiles and laughs, he likes the way his heart flies at the sound, and he especially likes it when he’s the cause of his joy. He likes falling asleep next to Changbin, likes holding his hand late at night when they can’t sleep, watching the lightshow dance around their intertwined fingers.

He just wonders if Changbin feels the same.

Actually, he wonders if Changbin _knows_ how he feels, considering Seungmin can’t exactly hide much from him.

He’s definitely lost sleep worrying over that.

Today, they're sitting in the garden, surrounded by pretty little purple and blue flowers. The king and queen are out for the day, and Seungmin immediately requested going to the garden for some fresh air. 

The day is nice, truly, peaceful and calm. The weeks prior, not so much. When he wasn’t practicing or spending time with Changbin, he was having nightmares of his friends’ deaths, of the memories of past jumpers, and anything else horrible and dark his mind could throw at him.

The only times he didn't have nightmares was when he fell asleep pressed close to Changbin’s chest. With the man’s heartbeat to lull him to sleep, he felt like nothing in the world could hurt them, and he dreamed of home or a future where everyone was happy. 

“I need you at dinner tonight.” Changbin finally breaks the silence, his eyes drifting from one of the flowers to Seungmin's face.

“And how are we supposed to manage that?” Seungmin scoffs, leaning back on his hands. The ground is dirty and he can feel the grains of sand and dirt against his palms, but he doesn't mind.

“I’ve been working on something.” Is all Changbin says as he closes his eyes. Seungmin can feel the buzzing of Changbin’s magic pick up, spreading through his own veins. He watches in curiosity as the area around them seems to dim considerably even in the middle of the day, with the sun hanging high. The air grows cold as shadows gather around them, and when he looks at Changbin again to ask what was going on, he finds that the man has disappeared.

“Changbin?” He leans forward, a prickle of panic tickling his heart.

“I’m here.” Changbin replies, the sound echoing everywhere, but Seungmin can’t see him.

“Where?” 

“Right in front of you.” Changbin’s voice is soft, reassuring, and then Seungmin feels his hand in his own. He jumps, looking down as Changbin’s arm slowly appears, dark shadows dragging across his skin to reveal the man once more. “Whereas you control light and fire, I control the shadows and ice. So, to answer your question, I can conceal you and you can attend the dinner without the king ever knowing.”

Seungmin gapes at him, eyes wide. Changbin moves to pull his hand away, but Seungmin tightens his grip. “That’s… actually amazing. Oh-! That reminds me!”

Changbin blinks once, then twice, then he smiles. He cocks his head to the side in curiosity. “What is it?”

“I… discovered something a while ago. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure I could perform it properly.” Seungmin explains, almost shyly, as he holds his palms face up in front of him.

“Oh, so you wanted to impress me, is that it?” Changbin smirks, leaning in just slightly.

Seungmin rolls his eyes and gently pushes him back, muttering something about needing space to concentrate, before closing his eyes and breathing in slowly. It’s still hard for him to properly muster up his magic, considering the place of trauma he’s conjuring it from, but he makes due. 

When he opens his eyes again, his arms are creating a sort of glass effect. The sunlight around them is reflecting off of his skin, the sight almost blinding. Not as good as usual, but it’s still something, regardless. He looks at Changbin to gauge his reaction, and is pleasantly surprised by the absolute awe on his face.

“Seungmin, this is beautiful.” Changbin says, reaching out to run his fingers along Seungmin’s arms. For some reason, the touch sends sparks of electricity up Seungmin’s arms and through his chest, fizzling out just below his ribcage. He shivers slightly.

“Thanks.” Seungmin murmurs, carefully letting his focus go and watching as his arms return to normal. “Been working hard on that.”

“I’m proud of you.” Changbin states so confidently, meeting Seungmin’s gaze. His friend’s eyes are practically sparkling and Seungmin can _feel_ the pride rolling off of him in waves.

He feels his cheeks heat up, and in a desperate attempt to change the subject before he explodes, he asks, “So, why do you need me at dinner tonight?” He scoots just a little closer to his friend and turns his palm face up to trace the lines of it. He can feel the warmth in the clearing slowly returning, but all he can really focus on is Changbin and the soft light filtering from their joined hands. 

Changbin searches his face, scowling momentarily, before he turns his attention to their hands. “Would you believe me if I told you that I had a feeling something bad might happen?” He answers a little sheepishly.

“A feeling…” Seungmin repeats, quietly. “I suppose at this point, that’s all we have to go off of.”

“So you’ll come?” Changbin sounds hopeful. He reaches out, hooking a finger under Seungmin’s chin to lift his head so their eyes meet.

Seungmin can only nod, and he hopes that Changbin’s can’t see the way his ears are burning. The man just stares at him for a few seconds longer, his expression guarded, and then he just smiles softly.

“Cool.” He whispers as his hand falls back to his lap. “Thank you.”

Seungmin nods and exhales, leaning back on his hands. He stares at Changbin, the man who’s his ‘other half’, the man connected to him in old and mystic ways. He supposes Changbin is supposed to be the one he should be relying on the most, and in a way, he is, but his responsibility to the people is much greater. He feels alone, more alone than he’s ever really felt. 

Plus, he feels like there’s a divide between them, a huge chasm that keeps them separated no matter how far they reach for the other, caused by their fated destruction of each other. 

It’s part of why Seungmin’s having so much difficulty admitting his feelings for Changbin to himself, let alone out loud.

“Seungmin,” Changbin’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts. His cheeks heat up in embarrassment, knowing Changbin probably knows exactly what was going through his mind, but the man just smiles. “What’s on your mind?”

“You know what’s on my mind, Changbin.” Seungmin mutters, averting his eyes.

“Mm, I want to give you the chance to talk about it if you want or need to.” Changbin responds.

Seungmin hesitates, eyeing a flower a few steps away from them. It seems like it’s staring back at him, some reassurance that it’s okay to open up every once in a while. With a soft sigh, Seungmin sits forward and brushes his hands off. “This whole… The responsibility thing is hard.” Changbin hums, but doesn’t speak, giving Seungmin time to collect his thoughts. 

“I feel… alone, I guess? I mean… everyone’s counting on me and I can’t even summon my magic without triggering my trauma because it’s like a fight or flight reaction.” He waves his hands around a little in the space between them, scowling.” I feel _ridiculous,_ Changbin. Not to mention, it feels like just a week ago I was still a university student. How did things change so fast?”

“Well, first of all, time is relative. Technically, on Earth, you were still just a uni student about three weeks ago.” Changbin jokes, smiling when Seungmin just scoffs. “And I want you to remember that you’re not alone, okay? You have all our friends, and you have me. You’re always gonna have me.” 

Seungmin just smiles slightly, though he doesn't feel fully convinced. Changbin regards him with an almost unreadable expression, head tilted, before he speaks again. “Now, as for your magic, it’s not supposed to be based on fear.” He holds a hand up, and slowly, shadows weave around his fingers. They turn ice blue as they reach his fingertips, and harden into ice, coating his hand in a chilled glove. “What did you feel just then, while I did that?”

“The magic…” Seungmin mumbles, staring at the ice in awe. 

“Emotionally, Seungmin.” Changbin snorts. Slowly, the ice melts back into shadows and dissipates. 

“Oh.” Seungmin blinks, thinking hard, and then it hits him. Usually, when he’s using his own magic, his anxiety picks up and he feels like he’s going to cry. It's stressful, conjuring up his abilities and fueling them with the fear he keeps balled up in his chest, even if it works. However, when Changbin uses his abilities, all he feels is peace. Like a warm blanket thrown over him and the soft crackle of a fireplace, cinnamon filling his senses, and a gentle hand in his hair. “Felt like home.”

Changbin’s smile grows at that, and Seungmin isn’t sure if he’s imagining the way Changbin’s cheeks turn pink. 

Changbin grabs Seungmin’s hand, lifting it up to press his own hand against it. Light bursts from between their palms, changing colors and weaving through their fingers and down their wrists. It really is a sight to behold. “Instead of using your trauma to fuel your magic, think about who you’re fighting for, who you're _living_ for. Because magic isn’t based on fear, Min, it’s — for lack of a better phrase, even though it sounds _incredibly_ cheesy — it’s based on love. On hope.”

Seungmin looks at him, lips parted. He considers the man’s words, mulls them over in his brain, and then slowly nods. He thinks about Hyunjin and Jeongin, who have been with him through all of this, who didn’t leave him alone when he’s needed them most. He thinks about Jisung and Chan, the bonds they’d built over those weeks back home. He thinks about Felix, with their mischievous nature and joyful smile. He thinks about the townspeople dancing in the streets, the happiness he felt. 

He thinks about Changbin, the man sitting in front of him, with his sharp edges and soft eyes, his loud laugh, his kind words, his warmth and his comfort. He thinks about the way he’s falling for Changbin, something he couldn’t explain, but it was there, like a thorn in his side—or, in better terms, like a pleasant buzz in his heart.

“I’m fighting for the people I love.” He whispers. He drops his hand from Changbin’s and rests his hands palm-up in his lap. With a deep inhale, he focuses the energy buzzing through his veins into his palms, imagining the smiling faces of his friends and his parents, holding onto him and encouraging him. With a slow exhale, a flame bursts to life in his hands, warm and comforting for once as it grows slowly. It dances around in the space between him and his friend, as though it can feel Seungmin’s joy. He looks up and meets Changbin’s eyes, greeted by a proud smile.

Maybe things would turn out alright. 

Changbin grabs his hands then, pulling him to his feet and leading him further into the garden. Seungmin tilts his head as he follows, watching the different flowers as they pass, flora of all shapes and sizes and colors. Some of them glowed, others danced. He smiles to himself. The garden was the one good part of the castle.

“Changbin, where are you-” He tries to ask, but he’s cut off when Changbin presses a finger to his lips. 

Seungmin nods, understanding, and then Changbin covers his eyes. When the man speaks, Seungmin can feel his breath ghosting over his lips. it makes him shiver. “Trust me, okay?”

Seungmin just nods again, and then Changbin is leading him forward, his hand still covering his eyes. Their surroundings grow quieter, yet more peaceful. They stop after a couple more steps, and Changbin pulls back completely, his hands slipping away, leaving Seungmin completely blind.

“You can open your eyes now.” Changbin instructs softly.

Seungmin blinks his eyes open and a gasp leaves his lips. They’re in a cave-like area, the walls littered with crystals and flowers alike, glowing blue and purple and red and yellow, creating a rainbow of vibrant colors. Seungmin turns in a slow circle, his eyes sparkling and his mouth stretched in a bright smile.

He finally looks at Changbin again. He looks stunning with all the different colors dancing across his face, highlighting his features in the most wonderful ways. Changbin is watching him with such fondness that it’s overwhelming, and yet, Seungmin has never felt safer.

“Changbin, it’s beautiful.” He whispers. Changbin’s face lights up with a smile and the emotion rolling off of him is something Seungmin hasn’t felt yet. It makes his heart backflip, though.

“I know you’re going to lead us well, and I know we’re going to win.” Changbin says firmly. “I’ll follow you to the end, and I know everyone else will too. I believe in you, and I hope you’ll be able to believe in yourself.”

Seungmin hesitates, frowning just slightly. He wants to believe in himself, he wants to do good for the people following him, but it feels like, no matter what he does, he just keeps coming up short. Changbin walks over to him, grabbing his hands and drawing his attention. Seungmin meets his eyes, illuminated by the lights reflecting around them, and searches his face as he lifts one of his hands to press a featherlight kiss to his knuckles. 

“It doesn't have to now, okay?” The man reassures, running his thumbs over the back of Seungmin’s hands comfortingly. “In due time. It’s not a race.”

Seungmin just nods and looks down at their hands. Tears prick at his eyes. He doesn't want to let anyone down anymore than he already has. “I’m sorry.”

“No apologies!” Changbin chides gently, the words punctuated by a soft chuckle. He opts for hugging Seungmin instead, and for a moment, Seungmin lets himself have hope, even if just a little bit. He exhales and buries his face in Changbin’s shoulder, breathing in the man’s scent, bringing himself a sense of comfort.

Yeah, no matter what happens, they’ll definitely be alright.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin is nervous, for sure, knowing that this was the first time he would be in the king’s presence since arriving at the castle. He’s dreamt about him, of course, with his red eyes and menacing smile, and the few times he’s passed by a portrait of the king, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Suffice to say, he’s not excited for the real deal.

“It’s going to be fine.” Changbin reassures as they walk down the halls to the banquet room. The torches on the walls are dim, only doing so much to keep the hallway illuminated as the sun sets. Seungmin is only vaguely aware of them flaring as he walks past, only to die down once they’re behind him. On the outside, he probably looks calm, but he knows Changbin can feel the waves of nauseating anxiety pouring off of him.

“Easy for you to say.” Seungmin mutters. “The king doesn’t want you dead.” 

Changbin just squeezes his hand, but doesn’t say anything until they reach the ornate double doors that separate them from the banquet hall. Changbin stops him, glances around the hall, and then grabs both of his hands. His eyes shut and he breathes deep, and then Seungmin can feel his magic thrumming through his veins and the gentle tingling of it passing over his own skin. Seconds later, Changbin opens his eyes and smiles softly at him. “There. Now you’re as visible as the air around you–which is to say, you’re completely invisible.”

“I got that, thanks.” Seungmin huffs.

“Now, I believe Hyunjin is among tonight’s serving crew, and he knows you’ll be with me. I told him this morning before you woke up. Make sure you make him aware of your presence but other than that, stay out of the way as best you can, okay?” Changbin explains. There’s a look in his eyes, one that Seungmin hasn’t seen often, but it reminds him just how much of a leader Changbin really is. He really would make a good king. Better than himself.

“Okay.” Seungmin nods and Changbin squeezes his hands once more before letting his own fall to his sides. Seungmin inhales through his nose, pressing close to Changbin’s side to provide comfort and to make it easier to slip through the door unnoticed as soon as Changbin opens it. 

When he does, Seungmin doesn’t pay attention to anything except stepping in and keeping close to the wall, and it’s only when he’s sure that Changbin’s magic is working properly and he’s in a concealed spot does he finally allow himself to focus on the people sitting at the table.

The king sits at the head of the table, which is expected. Changbin is seated on his right, and the queen is next to Changbin. She looks kind, albeit exhausted, long black hair framing her face. Seungmin can feel her hand grasping Changbin’s under the table, but somehow, Seungmin can tell it’s supposed to be comforting. 

The king, however, is even more terrifying in person than he is in paintings or dreams. A heavy, golden, ornate crown, with gems embedded in each point, rests atop his head, glinting in the candlelight shining from the chandelier above the table. The left half of his face is marred, long healed scars stretching down below his collar, similar to Minho’s. His left eye is milky white — an eyepatch sits on the table next to his hand — and his right eye is ice blue. The absolute control he has of the room with just his presence scares Seungmin the most.

“Good evening, son.” The king says. His voice is deep and cold, the words sounding as though they’re foreign to the man. His eyes scan the dining room, and they pause for a moment longer when they pass over Seungmin. He feels frozen, and he can feel Changbin’s pulse pick up only for a second, until the king moves onto staring at his empty plate. 

“Good evening, father.” Changbin mutters, his voice flat. Seungmin can feel the phantom grip tighten ever so slightly, and he can feel a sliver of Changbin’s fear slip away for a moment. 

“Did you have a good day?” The king sounds awkward, trying to make small talk with Changbin. Seungmin would laugh if, one, he didn’t have to stay concealed, and two, the king’s voice wasn’t edged with something else. It was extremely unsettling.

“I suppose. The garden is flourishing beautifully.” Changbin answers politely, with a smile directed at the queen. “The choices you’ve made in flora are wonderful, mother.”

The queen smiles, but it’s short-lived. A flash of confusion crosses Changbin’s features and Seungmin can feel his chest tighten. That can’t be good.

“Well, now that pleasantries are out of the way.” The king’s words are now laced with satisfaction, anger, and something much darker. “Bring him in.”

Seungmin’s eyes widen. His head whips around to the doors as they swing open, and he has to lean out from his hiding spot just a little to see who’s been dragged into the room. Their body is limp, head hanging between their shoulders, and it’s not until he’s brought to the end of the table opposite of the king does Seungmin finally recognize the ice-blue eyes.

_Minho._

He can feel the panic in Changbin’s chest before he’s aware of his own. Minho is pulled up to his feet when the guards reach the table, his head lolling back. His face is marred with fresh wounds, proof that he’d probably been beaten, but there’s a small smirk on his face despite that.

“Finally caught the damn shadow.” The king laughs, _he fucking laughs,_ jovial and a little unhinged.

Minho’s eyes flit around the room, and then his gaze locks with Seungmin’s. Seungmin wonders for a moment if Minho can actually see him, and his suspicions are confirmed when a knowing smile pulls at the man’s mouth. Seungmin slowly lifts a finger to his lips, and Minho winks. 

“How-” Changbin gulps. “How did you catch him?” His voice wavers just barely. Seungmin catches the corner of the king’s lips twitch, and a bolt of fear shoots through him.

“He was snooping around the palace, we found him on the cliffs overlooking the beach.” 

Seungmin can feel Changbin’s own fear and confusion mixing with his own. Why would Minho be here? Why would he risk himself and everything they’re doing like that?

“Ah, is that so?” Changbin’s voice is barely louder than a whisper. “And what do you plan to do with him?” 

The king sighs and pushes his chair back, the sound emitting a grating sound that makes Seungmin wince. He crosses the distance to the other end of the table and leans in towards Minho’s face. The latter barely reacts aside from glaring at the King from the corner of his eye, but Seungmin feels powerless. Even as his senses sharpen and the overwhelming need to rush out and protect Minho hits him suddenly. It takes one warning glance from Changbin shot in his direction to keep him rooted to the spot despite everything. 

“Well, I have personally wanted to rid my land of this parasite for quite some time,” A smirk slowly spreads across the king’s face. “What do you think, son? Does that sound like a good idea?”

Changbin’s fist tightens, and Seungmin can feel the magic slowly sliding from his skin. He panics and presses against the wall, praying to whatever deity rules this world that the plants and columns would conceal him in case the shadows melted from him completely.

_Changbin, relax. You’re going to end up giving me away._

The man’s head snaps around and their gazes meet as Changbin does his best to relax his shoulders. Slowly but surely, Seungmin can feel the magic settling back into his skin. He relaxes, exhaling slowly and softly.

_Breathe, Bin. Please._

Changbin glances in his direction. _I’m trying._

“Seo Chunghee, are your feelings hurt because I decided you weren’t good enough for me?” Minho rasps, words bitter and angry, but a grin spreads across his face. “Besides, you can’t kill a dead man twice.” 

The king’s expression shifts into rage and he slams Minho’s face into the table. Seungmin flinches, his heart racing as the king’s voice raises to a yell. “Speak again and I’ll drive my sword through your heart!”  
  


“That would tickle.” Minho giggles. Seungmin wants to tell him to shut up, but he can’t. 

“Shut your mouth.” The king growls, his grip on Minho’s hair tightening.

“No, because you know you don’t actually pose a threat to me. What are you going to do about it, anyways? You can’t threaten me with death because I’m already dead, you can’t threaten me with the Tower because that’s where I draw my power from, and if you try to kill me, it’ll just backfire on you.” Minho just sounds bored, and it catches Seungmin completely off guard. 

And then, with a pointed stare and a smirk in Seungmin’s direction, he adds, “You would know all about the rules of the Tower, wouldn’t you, Chunghee? I mean, considering the fact that you can’t seem to access it despite having endured it’s torture, correct? You abused the power it gives you, so it took it away.”

Seungmin’s brain suddenly switches gears. That was an advantage for him. That was actually _good._ If the king was powerless, that would mean that maybe they have a chance at defeating him. Seungmin didn’t feel quite as scared anymore, not after learning that. 

_Don’t get too hopeful, Min. He may be powerless, but his army is still big._ Changbin’s voice echoes around his mind.

_Without their king to lead them, they’re powerless._ Seungmin replies, and suddenly he almost wants to jump out and end this now, but he knows that’s too easy. This whole situation seems too easy. 

_And yet, he’s completely untouchable._ Is all Changbin answers with, and Seungmin knows he’s right.

“Throw him in the dungeon until I figure out what to do with him.” The king spits, releasing his grip on Minho’s hair. The guards grab him and pull him off the table, dragging him back towards the doors. “He can rot in there for now.”

“You’re going to lose, your majesty!” Minho sings. “Your destruction is just on the horizon! The Chosen One is preparing his army as we speak!” 

Maybe that last bit was a little unnecessary, but Seungmin feels a smirk pull at his lips. Minho, despite his character, was still nice. Seungmin hopes he’ll be okay. When the doors slam shut, Seungmin meets Changbin’s eyes. They’re both terrified, yet somehow, hopeful. 

The king sighs and brushes himself off, walking back around the table to once again take his seat. “Incompetent prick.” He mutters before waving to the servant by a door near the back of the room. Seungmin hadn’t even noticed them until now. 

Quickly, he hurries around the room to the door that he assumes leads towards the kitchens and slips through right before it closes. Once out of sight of Changbin, he can feel the magic melt away, and judging by the gaping faces of the kitchen staff as they stare at him, he’s now visible once again.

“There you are!” Hyunjin bursts from another room off to the side and throws himself at Seungmin, Jeongin hot on his heels, and immediately the staff relaxes. 

One of them walks over to him with a grin, a hand grasping his shoulder. “You must be Sky. Hyunjin and Jeongin talk about you a lot, and I’ve helped them smuggle food up to the prince’s room quite a few times.”

Seungmin stares at the man with wide eyes, and then his gaze slides over to Hyunjin and Jeongin in confusion. Hyunjin has a happy smile on his face. “This is Jackson.” He explains as he gestures to the man standing in front of Seungmin.

Seungmin exhales in relief, and all the stress from earlier melts from his shoulders. He turns his attention back to his friends. “The king has Minho.”  
  
The smiles on his friends’ faces fall, and they share a glance as a silence falls over them. Jackson just looks thoughtful, but then it’s as if a lightbulb goes off in his head. “Minho? Like, blue eyes, scars all over his face?” Seungmin nods and Jackson snorts. “The king won’t have him for long, then. Either he’ll escape on his own or Channie will storm the palace looking for him.”

Seungmin knows it’s supposed to be comforting, but after seeing the utter rage in the king’s eyes just minutes earlier, he can’t help but worry about what will happen if either of those happen. If Minho quietly escapes on his own, he has a better chance at freedom if the king doesn’t catch him, but if Chan shows up, the entire plan could be compromised. He really hopes the latter doesn’t happen.

“You should go back to the room, Sky. Before the guards see you or before the king does.” Jackson says. Seungmin glances up at him and then he nods, averting his gaze back to the floor. “Here, Jinyoung will help you get back unseen.” He gestures towards one of the men washing dishes who looks up when his name is called. 

He gives Seungmin a kind smile and nods in agreement as he turns the faucet off and drops the dishes into the sink. “Come, follow me.”

Seungmin glances at Hyunjin and Jeongin who are quick to pull him into a hug with promises of visiting him in the room later and then Seungmin follows Jinyoung towards a back room. The latter closes the door and pushes a couple of boxes out of the way so he can pull a plank from the wall, the gap big enough for one person. “This leads right to the bedroom.” Jinyoung explains, gesturing towards the hole. 

“Thank you.” Seungmin murmurs and holds his hand up, a small flame coming to life in the middle of his palm. Jinyoung’s eyes widen as he stares at it, but then a small smile graces his lips.

“Wow, the rumors are true.” The man whispers, and Seungmin recognizes the glimmer in his eyes. Hope. “Jaebeom is a jumper too, he’s currently back in his world collecting people to help us.” Jinyoung explains.

“When he returns, tell him my thanks, then.” Seungmin smiles politely, and steps through the gap in the wall. 

“I will.” Jinyoung promises with a bow. “We’re all ready to fight alongside you when the time comes, king.” The man says, and Seungmin turns to ask what he means by ‘king’, but the plank is already in place and he can faintly hear the door closing as Jinyoung leaves him in silence once more.

A shiver travels down his spine as a damp draft passes over his skin, leaving a weird feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  


Seungmin is leaning against the balcony railing when Changbin finally returns. He doesn’t turn to look at his friend, keeping his gaze on the stars above until Changbin pads across the cold stone floor of their shared room and wraps his arms around Seungmin’s waist from behind, his forehead pressed between his shoulder blades. Seungmin ignores his own pounding heart. “Are you okay?”

“He has Minho.” Changbin whimpers.

Seungmin frowns. He turns in Changbin’s arms and cups the man’s cheeks, lifting his head to meet his eyes. “Minho will be okay.”

“I know, I know. I just–” Changbin bites his bottom lip for a moment, and then hides his face in Seungmin’s shoulder. “Can you just hold me?”

Seungmin tenses for only a moment, and then he wraps his arms around Changbin, resting his chin on the crown of his head. A gentle breeze blows over them, and Seungmin can faintly hear the quiet sounds of chirping coming from the garden below mixing with Changbin’s quiet breaths, but other than that, silence settles over them. 

Seungmin’s left with his own thoughts, and he frowns as he thinks back to earlier that evening. He feels bad, because Minho knew he was there, and yet he did nothing. He wishes he could’ve done something, but he just froze. Rationally, he knows he needed to stay hidden, but he’s supposed to protect everyone, and he couldn’t do that when it mattered. He can’t even protect Changbin from the king. 

“You’re thinking too loud.” Changbin whispers, his hands rubbing Seungmin’s back comfortingly. “You’ve done what you could up until now. We need to play it safe until the ball.”

“What if we don’t have until the ball?” Seungmin whispers, his grip tightening on Changbin’s shirt. “There’s still a month until then and the only thing we have for certain on the king is that he’s technically powerless, but that doesn’t help us a whole lot.”

“We have to have hope, Seungmin.” 

“Hope doesn’t mean anything if it’s empty words.” Seungmin mutters bitterly. His throat burns with tears as he stares at the ground. Everyone is so hopeful but he can’t find it in himself to be hopeful as well. Everything’s been futile up until now, it seems. 

“It’s not empty words to me.” Changbin pulls back enough to look at him. He reaches up and rests a hand on Seungmin’s cheek, guiding him to meet his eyes. Seungmin tries not to think about how close their faces are. “You may not have hope yet, but that’s okay. I’ve got enough for both of us.”

Seungmin’s bottom lip quivers and the tears spill over, splashing onto Changbin’s arm and the stone beneath their feet, leaving behind dark spots. He leans his head back in hopes of hiding the fact that he’s crying from Changbin. “I’m sorry.” He whimpers.

“Why are you sorry?” Changbin chuckles softly, but his words aren’t mocking.

“I’m so bad at this leader thing.” Seungmin mutters. Carefully, he worms out of Changbin’s grip, just enough to feel the cool night air hugging his skin. Changbin’s hand slips into his as he takes in a shuddering breath. “If I struggle to have hope, isn’t this futile?”

“As long as one of us has hope, we’ll be okay.” Changbin answers and Seungmin can just hear his stupid smile. 

“You’re so ridiculous.” Seungmin huffs through his tears, but he can’t help smiling as well. “It baffles me how, despite _everything,_ you’ve managed to remain so optimistic.”

Changbin just laughs a little and reaches up again to pat Seungmin’s cheek. “It comes with age, my friend.”

Seungmin ignores the tiny pang in his chest when Changbin says “friend”, and instead he just gently slaps his shoulder. “You’re only a year older than me.”

Changbin doesn’t answer, and instead reaches up with both hands and rests them on Seungmin’s cheeks. He meets the latters eyes, and a smile graces his features. Seungmin feels his heart stutter in his chest at the sight of the moonlight illuminating Changbin’s features and the fond look in his eyes. He tries his best to shove down any feelings trying to claw their way to the surface, because he can’t be focusing on that right now, but then Changbin leans in ever so slightly.

“Seungmin?” Changbin whispers, his thumb gently brushing across his cheekbones and wiping away any stray tears. Seungmin can feel his heartbeat pick up as he hums questioningly. Changbin opens his mouth a couple times, but no words come out and then his face falls just slightly. “We’ll be okay.”

Seungmin can’t help the disappointment pulling at his heart, but he just nods. Perhaps it's for the best, he decides. 

Slowly, Changbin pulls away, his grip tightening just slightly on Seungmin’s hand. “Let’s go to bed.” He sighs and leads him back into the room. 

They’re silent as they crawl under the covers, with Seungmin’s back pressed against Changbin’s chest and Changbin’s arms secure around his waist. They’ve woken up like this plenty of times before, but this time, the air is different. Seungmin just closes his eyes and tries to push any and all thoughts out of his mind. 

He barely feels the press of Changbin’s lips to the back of his neck right before sleep pulls him under. 

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Okay, okay, again.” Changbin instructs, though his eyes sparkle excitedly.

Since that day in the garden, Seungmin’s magic has improved greatly. He no longer got headaches and no longer triggered anxiety attacks, and his flames seemed to burn hotter and brighter. So, to help him settle into his new power, Changbin had him practicing any second they had time. 

They’re a week into these practice sessions now, and spring is slowly turning to summer. The days were growing warmer and the trees were becoming greener. The fauna was more alive too, on days when Seungmin and Changbin would sneak into the woods, they came across glowing deer and giant cats the size of small trees. Birds whose tails spiraled at the end flitted around their heads, making them laugh.

It's been nice to just spend time with Changbin, even if they weren’t making much progress. Truthfully, Seungmin wonders sometimes if staying in the castle is even a good idea anymore, but he’s not ready to leave the little bubble just yet.

Seungmin inhales, closing his eyes, and holds his hands out in front of him. All of his energy gathers in his arms and sits in his palms, and then he releases it, a blast of hot flames shooting out over the balcony. It’s more powerful than anything Seungmin’s conjured up until now. 

Changbin cheers and hugs Seungmin tight, shaking him just a little. Seungmin knows his skin is probably hot through the thin linen of his shirt, but it doesn't seem to bother Changbin. Actually, he wonders if Changbin can even feel it. 

“That was amazing, Minnie!” Changbin exclaims. 

“Could’ve been better.” Seungmin mumbles as his cheeks heat up under the praise. 

With a scoff, Changbin nudges him with his hip. “You did great, Min. Come on, let’s take a break.” He suggests, and Seungmin is barely nodding before Changbin is blipping them to the lake on the other side of the woods. 

“Are you sure it’s okay to be here?” Seungmin asks, scanning the tree line nervously.

“No one comes out here.” Changbin reassures, squeezing his hand. “Especially the king. We deserve to unwind a little, don’t you think?” Seungmin looks over at him, chewing on his bottom lip as he considers it, and then he nods. Changbin smiles and pulls away from him to undress. “Great, because I am in _great_ need of a nice swim.”

Seungmin, despite his paranoia, chuckles, and unbuttons his vest, dropping it to the ground; the rest of his clothes soon follow. He turns to the water to see Changbin already wading into the water. Seungmin slowly follows, letting his body float across the water. He can feel it warming around him, as if he’s healing his own bones through the water. Changbin floats over to him, his head fitting in next to Seungmin’s, and they stay like that for a while. 

“Hey,” Seungmin says finally, after long moments of floating across the surface of the lake, Seungmin’s magic and the sun above keeping them warm. “How much can we feel through the physical connection? Like, I could feel the queen holding your hand at the dinner. Does it only work if we’re near each other?”

Changbin hums thoughtfully. Seungmin can feel the vibration in his shoulder. After another moment, he sees movement in his peripheral and cranes his neck to see Changbin pinch his arm. “Could you feel that?”

Seungmin looks down at his arm and shakes his head. “No, I couldn’t.”

“Okay,” Changbin nods. “What about…” He trails off as he pulls away from Seungmin, gently floating both of them to the shallow parts of the lake. With a smile, he makes sure he has Seungmin’s attention, and runs a hand over his shoulder. Seungmin could feel the faint tingle of it on his own skin, and he nods. Changbin hums, eyebrows raised just slightly. “So we can’t feel pain inflicted on each other, but harmless touches we can feel.”

“Interesting.” Seungmin murmurs. 

Changbin stares at him, expression unreadable, and then he swims closer to Seungmin, displacing the water around them. “I’m gonna try something. Trust me?”

After a beat of hesitation and deliberation, Seungmin nods. Honestly, he probably trusts Changbin with his life at this point. “Yeah,” He confirms verbally as well, in case the nod wasn’t enough. “I do.”

A look of surprise crosses Changbin’s face, his original motive momentarily forgotten as he stares, wide-eyed at Seungmin. When Seungmin clears his throat, Changbin quickly shakes his head and grabs Seungmin’s wrist, pulling it forward until it touches his chest just under his collarbone. He gently trails his hand down his arm just slightly, before tilting his head.

“I can feel my own touch on my arm.” He says softly. “Can you feel your touch on your chest?” 

Seungmin tilts his head, trailing his fingers along the skin of Changbin’s chest. He can feel it on his own skin too. “Yeah, I can.”

Changbin smiles. He grabs Seungmin’s wrist and guides it to his face, resting it against his cheek. “And that?” Seungmin nods. Changbin guides his hand to hair, and Seungmin nods again. Anywhere Changbin rests his hand—the tip of his nose, his shoulders, his wrist above his pulse, his waist—Seungmin could feel all of it. It was a little overwhelming and a little odd, to feel his own touch on Changbin’s skin mirrored on his own as well, and yet it didn't even feel like _him._

“This is so…” He trails off, letting his hand drop back into the water as Changbin leads him out of the water to lay on the grass. “Overwhelming, but…”

“But?”

“But I kind of like it,” Seungmin murmurs. “It’s like a constant reminder that I’m not alone.”

“I like it too.” Changbin agrees, nodding. “It- well, it’s comforting. No one else in the world will ever know someone the way we know each other.”

Seungmin looks over at him, and a wave of affection washes over him. Changbin is right, as far as they know, they're the only people with this kind of connection, who will know every inch of each other without even having to touch or see every part of the other. It’s intimate in a whole different way, and _well._

“For eternity.” Seungmin murmurs, looking up at the clouds passing overhead. “Just us, together, against the world.”

“For better or worse.” Changbin says, and finds Seungmin’s hand, squeezing it gently.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  
  


A week later, Seungmin finds himself sitting on the bedroom floor with the journal sitting in front of him. He hasn’t touched it since the day they translated it, but it’s been nagging at the back of his mind ever since Jinyoung called him ‘King’.

With a deep breath, exhaling through his nose, the air hot against his nostrils, he reaches out and flips it open to the first page. He scans over the first entry he translated weeks ago, releasing a soft sigh. He flips through the rest of the journal until he reaches the pages with his name, and that’s when he feels the energy the most. As if it’s written with magic itself.

Quickly, he slams the book closed and drags a hand through his hair. He wants to go to the garden, he decides. He needs to get out of this room for a while, so he stands abruptly and walks to the door. 

He pauses when he reaches it though, his hand gripping the doorknob. He had been a little paranoid since the dinner, but he had heard from Hyunjin that Jackson was right and Minho had escaped within a couple days. Jinyoung had told them that Minho said Jaebeom returned with help and they were currently camping at the grotto, whatever that meant. All Seungmin knew was that the grotto was supposed to be untouchable, so he just hoped it would keep them safe until the ball.

Taking a deep breath, he steps out of the room and makes his way down the hall, allowing his thoughts to drift as he makes his way to the servant quarters since Changbin isn’t here to fill the silence. He’s currently off doing something with the queen and the king is supposed to be tending to official matters in the war room, so Seungmin figures he’s safe enough for now. He hums to himself, immersed in dragging his hands along the walls and studying each and every little detail. 

_King._ He still wonders why Jinyoung had called him that. He’s no king, he’s a pretty sucky “leader” in general. He frowns to himself, stopping in his tracks as he stares down at his shoes. He’s felt pretty useless ever since they arrived at the castle. If he can’t find anything in all the research he’s been doing, then how is he supposed to lead the people following him? 

“You’re an idiot, Kim Seungmin.” He mutters to himself, lightly kicking the wall next to him with a scowl. 

He hears footsteps and his head shoots up. When he looks around him and realizes that he has nowhere to hide (since he’s been trying and failing to conceal the rest of himself as he’d done his arm that day after the picnic), panic settles in his chest. 

And then he sees the king and a pair of guards walking down the hall in his direction. 

He presses himself to the wall and makes the split second decision to bow, as though he were just a servant, and he really hopes the king isn’t paying enough attention to realize that he’s wearing royal clothes and not servant clothes. He almost thinks he’s in the clear until he hears the clanking of the guards armor stop, and his heartbeat picks up when a pair of shoes come into his line of vision.

“Rise.” The king’s voice makes him jump, and he does as he’s told. He only meets the man’s eyes for a second before focusing on something else just past his head. He’s looked into those piercing eyes enough in his dreams. “And who might you be?”

Dark energy rolls off the king in waves, and it's enough to make Seungmin’s knees weak with fear. It’s almost like he can feel his own magic battling to keep the king’s energy from touching him, just barely keeping a barrier between the two of them.

And then he fears whether the king can feel _his_ energy.

“Sk-Sky, your majesty.” He chokes out.

“Sky… That’s an odd name.” The king narrows his eyes suspiciously, and Seungmin fears he’s been caught.

“I don’t remember my given name, your majesty.” He’s lying through his teeth, but the king doesn’t need to know that. Slowly, he steps around him and bows once more. “I have to return to my quarters now.” 

“Stop.” The king commands, his voice startling Seungmin once more. “Your clothes. Where did you get them? They’re not the same ones my servants wear.”

_Shit._

“I found them, your majesty.” He mutters as he feels his nails dig into his palms.

“They are my son’s, are they not?”

“I-I’m not sure.” Seungmin glances down at the blouse he’s wearing. The clothes came from Changbin’s closet, sure, but they’re technically not _his._

“They are.” The king scowls. “Return them to him at once–after you change back into your proper attire.”

“Yes, your majesty. I apologize for the disrespect.” Seungmin nods quickly and bows once more before turning on the ball of his foot. Just as he’s turning the corner at the end of the hall, Changbin appears out of _fucking nowhere,_ and the man’s face lights up with a grin.

“Seungmin!” He calls, loudly, unaware of the king only steps away from them. _Idiot,_ Seungmin thinks. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_

He stops dead in his tracks and he figures the fear must’ve been clear on his face because Changbin stops as well. Seungmin glances to his right, where the king still stands, staring at the two of them. There’s no way he didn’t hear. There’s no way–

“ _You_.” The king growls, a shaky finger raised in Seungmin’s direction.

Seungmin is rooted to the spot, fear paralyzing him. He’s dreamt of this before. Usually, one of the guards turns into a giant black dog and devours him whole, or a giant black snake and bites him, letting its venom poison him slowly, or a giant black mass that sends him freefalling through a void, rendering him breathless and suffocating him. This is it. They’re dead.

The guards next to the king lose shape and their armor clatters to the floor around them as the shadows morph into big, black dogs, snarls sounding low in their throats. Seungmin feels an unpleasant bile rise in his throat. His nightmares are coming to life, his memories are coming back tenfold, and his fear turns to absolute terror, rooting him to the spot and turning his blood to ice.

“ _Run!”_ Changbin screams, his hands clasping onto Seungmin’s and dragging him down the hall. He catches Seungmin off guard momentarily, but brings him back to his senses regardless. 

“You’re an idiot, you know that!” Seungmin gasps shakily as they round the corner, the dogs crashing into the wall behind them as the momentum from their speed catches up with them. “Why aren’t you blipping us out of here?!”

“Can we discuss this when we’re not being chased?!” Changbin snaps back, his jaw set. Seungmin feels dread gathering in the pit of his stomach.

He glances back over his shoulder to see the dogs hot on their heels, which is expected. An idea hits him when he notices the torches on the walls going out as the dogs pass them. _That must be why they’re so dim_ , Seungmin thinks as he throws his arm out, a blast of fire exploding from his palm. The dogs screech as the flames hit them and they evaporate just like that. Seungmin laughs in relief, but it’s short-lived when Changbin stops abruptly. 

“Now who’s an idiot?” Changbin mutters as Seungmin turns back around to see the dogs in front of them now, poised to kill.

Seungmin doesn’t waste any time and yanks Changbin’s arm forward, the two of them ducking under the dogs just as they leap at the boys. They’re in the clear so far, once again picking up their pace and hurrying through the halls. 

“Still you.” Seungmin mutters in response to Changbin’s question. The man doesn’t respond, but his hand tightens around Seungmin’s for a second.

As they turn a corner, Changbin’s points ahead. “I think there’s a painting just up here, not much farth-” 

One of the dogs hits him from the side, tearing his arm away from Seungmin. 

When Changbin and the dog go tumbling, Seungmin is shocked still, his eyes wide and mouth agape as he watches Changbin wrestle to get the shadow off of him. A scream leaves his lips as the dog’s claws sink into his side, and it’s enough to make Seungmin move, his body working on pure instinct as he lifts his hand, a blast of blinding light sending the dog flying halfway across the hall. 

“Changbin-” Seungmin surges forward and helps Changbin up, slinging the man’s arm over his shoulder and wrapping his other arm around his waist to keep him upright, half-dragging him to the painting. Seungmin wishes it was closer, since they’re running out of time.

It's then that, as if summoned, the frame appears only steps away. The two of them practically throw themselves through it just as the dog regains its footing. Seungmin doesn't have any time to process that he might've been the one to summon it in the first place.

They emerge on the other side in a dark alleyway, the busy sounds of the street a little muffled by the walls around them. Seungmin looks back at the painting, and he can vaguely make out the shape of something charging down the hallway they had just come from. With a gasp, he realizes it’s the dog, and without thinking, he throws his hands up. He had meant it as a way to prepare for impact, ready to burn straight through the dog as soon as it comes through, but instead the painting vanishes. 

“Seungmin!” Changbin rasps, his voice strained. “Our friends–”

Seungmin’s head snaps around to look at his friend, only then realizing just how bad the wound was. Blood is quickly soaking through Changbin’s shirt. He whimpers as he falls to his knees next to the older, grabbing his arm again to lift him to his feet. Changbin groans but leans into Seungmin’s side as the latter does his best to hold him up and help him towards the sidewalk. He scans the street, easily recognizing it. They’re not far from the school.

“We’re close to the university and my dorm’s on the third floor, but the elevator works okay. Do you think you can make it?” Seungmin asks, glancing down at Changbin who just nods, but his face is screwed in pain. Seungmin just hopes he actually _can_ make it.

They do their best to hurry, and thankfully it doesn’t take them long to reach the campus. Seungmin manages to get them past security without too much trouble. The walk to the elevator is slow, but once they're in, they both slump against the wall and take a moment to catch their breaths.

“Shit!” Seungmin hisses finally, thumping his head against the wall behind him. Changbin grunts questioningly. “I left my notebook behind. All of our translations were in there.”

“Smooth.” Changbin manages to mutter.

“I wasn’t planning on getting caught, Changbin.” Seungmin snaps back, but there’s no real bite to his words. Changbin just lets out a huff, something akin to a laugh, and squeezes Seungmin’s side reassuringly as his head lolled back. Sweat shines on his skin, which looks pale. Seungmin really hopes he’ll make it.

As soon as the elevator doors slide open, Seungmin helps Changbin out and down the hall to his dorm. Thankfully it’s the dead of night and no one’s in the halls. 

Changbin looks like he’s ready to pass out and Seungmin himself is starting to feel tired, but he needs to clean Changbin’s wounds. He doesn’t even bother with being gentle with the doorknob since his key is in his old clothes. So, unsure if his magic works in this world given the unfamiliar silence in place of where the buzzing should be, he carefully pulls away from Changbin’s side and kicks the door next to the knob hard enough to open it. He hopes no one hears.

He lays Changbin down on his bed as carefully as he can and grabs his desk chair, dragging it over to the door and hooking it under the doorknob to make sure no one opens it, and then he goes to the bathroom. He and Hyunjin always keep a first aid kit under the sink, and thankfully it’s still completely untouched, so he grabs it and wets a towel with warm water, returning to Changbin’s side as fast as possible.

“Take your shirt off.” He mutters, opening the kit and pulling out some alcohol swabs, gauze pads, and a roll of tape to wrap him up. He wished he could just heal him properly right now.

“Take me to dinner first.” Changbin chokes out, a cheeky grin on his face despite the pain he must be feeling. “Can’t believe you’re asking me to undress before the first date.”

“Changbin.” Seungmin chides, scowling at the man.

“Sorry, sorry.” His friend rolls his eyes, though his smile just grows as he gingerly unbuttons his vest, shaking it off his shoulders and tossing it aside, his shirt soon following it. Seungmin gasps when he sees the wound, blood crusted around deep holes in Changbin’s side, and more of it oozes down his side and soaked into the waistband of his pants. Wispy bits of whatever the guards are made of swirls around it and Seungmin scowls. 

Quickly, he reaches over to the desk at the foot of his bed and grabs the table lamp, turning it to direct the bulb at the wound. He switches it on, the light shining directly on the shadows and they fizzle out with a weird squealing sound. Changbin instantly relaxes afterwards.

“This will hurt.” Seungmin mutters and brings the towel up to press it against the wounds. Changbin inhales sharply, but he remains relatively still as Seungmin does his best to clean away any excess blood before grabbing one of the swab packets and ripping it open, using it to clean around the edges of the holes. 

When he’s sure it’s clean enough, he reaches across Changbin to grab the sewing needle and surgical thread from the kit (he had made sure they were prepared for any situation–thank god he did. He made a mental note to rub that in Hyunjin’s face later) and he makes quick work of threading the needle. “Do you need to bite down on anything or will you be fine?”

“Just get it over with.” Changbin mutters through gritted teeth. Seungmin meets his eyes for a moment, expecting annoyance or anger, but all he’s met with is trust. He ignores his burning ears and just sets to work on patching up Changbin’s side the rest of the way, and thankfully the man doesn’t make it hard for him. He’s grateful for the medical training courses his dad made him take a couple years back right now.

“When we get back, I’ll heal these properly, but for now we need to get some rest, okay?” Seungmin murmurs as he wraps the tape around Changbin’s torso, making sure to secure it over his shoulders a couple times for good measure. He glances up, Changbin’s face inches from his own. 

The older meets his eyes, expression guarded as always, and then he nods. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Yeah well, can’t have you dying on me yet.” Seungmin mutters as his face heats up. He averts his gaze, focusing on ripping off the end of the tape and securing it as best he could. He leans back and admires his handiwork, figuring it’ll have to work for now. 

His eyes trail over the three long scars stretching from the top of Changbin’s chest to just below his waistband, and for a moment he wants to reach out and run his fingers over them, feel even the imperfect parts of him and let him know he was still perfect either way. Instead, he just sets about cleaning everything up. He can feel Changbin’s eyes on him as he leans into the bathroom doorway, simply just setting the kit on the sink counter before returning to Changbin’s side. 

“Lay down.” He mutters, gesturing vaguely to Changbin.

“This is feeling very suggestive, Seungmin.” Changbin pouts, his words teasing, but a smirk takes over his features when he sees Seungmin’s cheeks redden.

“You just got attacked by a giant black shadow dog and you’re seriously making jokes right now?” Seungmin scowls as he crawls into the bed next to Changbin, pressing against his side that isn’t injured when the man opens his arms invitingly. It seems like their bodies are moving on autopilot at this point.

“I’m not scared when I’m with you.” Changbin whispers into his hair as he wraps his arms around him protectively.

“I couldn't protect you today.” Seungmin frowns.

“We were caught off guard.” Changbin reassures, rubbing his hand down his back. “It’s only natural that you panicked. You did your best.”

  
  


“It’s not enough.” Seungmin’s voice is barely a whisper as he presses his face into Changbin’s bare shoulder.

“It’s more than enough.” Changbin says as he presses a fleeting kiss to the crown of Seungmin’s head. “Besides, if you’re protecting all of us, who’s protecting you?”

Seungmin pauses at the question, and then he lifts himself up so he can meet Changbin’s eyes. “It’s my job to keep you all safe.”

“Seungmin, you have to let us keep you safe too.”

“Not if it means you get hurt in the process.”

Changbin scowls, reaching up to push Seungmin’s hair off his forehead. “You’re ridiculous.” He whispers, and then his expression shifts into something softer as he just stares at Seungmin.

“Changbin–”

His friend slaps a hand over his mouth to shut him up, a scowl set on his face. “Please trust me on this. Please let me protect you, too.”

Seungmin hesitates a long while, searching Changbin’s face as if it held all the answers. The determination on his friend’s face is enough for him to nod slowly, and Changbin’s hand slips from his mouth. “Sleep, okay?”

“You too.” Seungmin sighs, settling back down and letting his eyes flutter shut.

“Anything for you.” Changbin whispers, his arms wrapped firmly around his shoulders, keeping him safe as he drifts to sleep.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The grass feels soft against Seungmin’s bare arms when he lays back. It’s silky, almost, and he wishes he could just lay here forever. The sky overhead is clear and vibrant and a gentle breeze blows past. Changbin lays in his lap, chest rising and falling slowly as he sleeps, and his weight is comforting. Seungmin smiles, watching the rhythm of his breathing. Maybe they could stay awhile.

“Fucking finally.” 

A voice to his left startles him, but he doesn’t feel scared. He tilts his head back and meets Minho’s familiar blue eyes, giving the man a lazy smile. Minho just rolls his eyes and sits next to him, staring at Changbin instead. Seungmin slowly sits up, his hand immediately finding its way to Changbin’s hair, gently running his fingers through it.

“You two seem much closer than I remember.” Minho comments, tilting his head curiously.

“You could say that.” Seungmin nods.

“Did you kiss or something?”

Seungmin chokes on his own spit, his eyes widening at Minho as his face turns bright red. The man just laughs and waves him off. “I’m kidding. Whatever it is, I’m glad. It's better than the alternative.”

“Why are you here, Minho?” Seungmin shakes his head. He looks down at Changbin, simply admiring his sleeping face. He always looks like a cherub in his sleep.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for hours, and I don’t have a lot of time. The sun is almost up.” Minho begins, his voice suddenly much more serious. “I don’t know what happened, but Chunghee made a public announcement that your bounty has been raised, and they’re saying you kidnapped the crown prince, so I’m guessing you blew your cover. Find the farm painting and come back as soon as you can, okay? I’ll be waiting with Chan and Jisung. We need to strike soon and we have enough people to help – hopefully.” 

“Can you tell me what it is he’s going to do? What he’s planning to do?” Seungmin asks. He needs to know.

“We’re still trying to figure that out. We’ll discuss that when you’re here and we have more time.” 

“Hyunjin and Jeongin?” Seungmin almost doesn’t want to know. He’s terrified of the answer.

“We’re not sure. We’re trying to get in touch with Jackson, but it’s not working so far.” Minho sounds sympathetic, but dread just settles deep in the pit of Seungmin’s stomach. “And, Changbin was wrong about the ball, by the way. Chunghee called it off so I’m guessing that means it wasn't important.”

“Okay. We’ll be there as soon as we can be.” 

Minho nods. He’s starting to fade when he reaches over and presses his thumb to Seungmin’s forehead.

“ _Wake up.”_

When he wakes up, the bed is empty.

“Changbin-” Panic floods through him. He shoots up, scanning the room, only to see the bathroom door closed. The sound of running water reaches his ears immediately after, and he exhales as he slowly sinks into the bed in relief. His eyes slide closed, everything slowly fading away around him.

He must’ve fallen back asleep briefly, because when he opens his eyes again, Changbin is sitting at the edge of the bed, rewrapping his wound. He sits up and pulls his knees to his chest, watching Changbin curiously. Changbin spares him a quick glance, an eyebrow raised, and then he smiles as he focuses on the tape again. 

“Good morning.” He sounds way too chipper.

“Morning.” Seungmin responds, chewing on his bottom lip.

“You know, ever since we came back to this world, I haven’t been able to hear your thoughts.” Changbin says, but his voice is edged. Seungmin can’t tell what that means.

“I can’t hear yours either.” 

Changbin hums. He finishes wrapping the tape around his body before leaning towards Seungmin, his face only inches from his own. “So what’s going on in that hard head of yours? I can tell you’re thinking too loud.”

“My head isn’t hard.” Seungmin pouts, reaching up to rub the side of his head.

Changbin just smiles, warm and fond, and he reaches up to poke the tip of Seungmin’s nose. The latter blinks at him, his mind completely blanking as Changbin picks up his shirt off the floor, carefully pulling it back over his head. He reaches for the vest next, but stops when he realizes Seungmin is still staring at him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Seungmin scowls and averts his gaze, trying to get his heart to calm down.

Changbin is quiet for a couple seconds more, his gaze boring holes into the side of Seungmin’s head before he just sighs and pulls his vest on. “So, what next?”

Seungmin opens his mouth to respond, but his stomach growls loudly just then. He and Changbin stare at each other for a moment before they both burst into giggles. 

“Well, food, then?” Changbin asks, his eyes looking Seungmin up and down, and then he tilts his head. “Actually, we should probably change. My dorm is on the next floor up, so…”

Seungmin almost agrees, wanting nothing more than to take some time and recharge, but considering the way time moves in the other world, they don’t have time to wait around. He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Minho came to me in my sleep. He said we need to get back as soon as possible. According to the king, I kidnapped you.”

Changbin’s eyes darken and he nods. He wastes no time in fastening his vest before standing and Seungmin is quick to follow. Their hands find each other as they leave the room and hurry on their way to the warehouse.

“Minho told me to go through the farm painting, the one Hyunjin, Jeongin and I came through before. They’ll be waiting for us there.” Seungmin explains as they board the bus. They receive weird looks, but they ignore the bystanders as they find seats at the back of the bus just as it jerks into motion.

“Keep your voice down.” Changbin warns. His eyes scan the people around them, most likely making sure they’re all human. Seungmin follows his lead, in case the man misses anything, and then Changbin’s speaking again. “Hyunjin and Jeongin, are they okay?”

Seungmin falters at the question. He casts his eyes downwards, his grip on Changbin’s hand tightening just slightly. The older frowns and lifts his hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. “They’re okay, don’t worry.” 

Seungmin wants to believe him, but it’s hard. They don’t even know what happened to any of the castle staff for that matter. With a sigh, he slides down in his seat so he can rest his head on Changbin’s shoulder. “I hope they have a plan.”

“They’ll be looking to you for a plan.” Changbin murmurs. His thumb traces circles on the back of Seungmin’s hand. He misses the lights they create when their hands touch.

Seungmin frowns. They really shouldn’t be. “Jinyoung called me ‘king’, but… I don’t see how I could be, since I’m not doing a very good job leading this rebellion.”

“I suggest believing Jinyoung, Min.” Changbin chuckles softly. “Not many are gifted with farsight, but those who are know what’s in store for us. They don’t share, explaining that it could influence your actions negatively, but they never refer to you by name, for some reason.” 

“Only ‘king’ I’m guessing?” Seungmin huffs. Changbin nods. “Right…”

The rest of the ride is silent, Seungmin taking the time to figure _something_ out. He knows the inner workings of the castle enough to use that to his advantage, but he’s not sure how they could. He supposes he could ask Jinyoung about passages leading into the castle from the outside if he’s still okay, but they still have the king’s army to worry about. It all depends on who they have fighting for them.

The bus comes to a stop not that far from the warehouse an hour later and Seungmin and Changbin waste no time in making their way down the street to the old building. The air is still as they maneuver through the shelves to the backroom, and Seungmin can’t help but stay alert the entire time. The last time he was here wasn’t pretty, after all.

Changbin throws the door to the backroom open, and Seungmin’s heart drops when they’re met with the sight of the paintings destroyed.

“Shit.” Changbin hisses, dropping Seungmin’s hand and hurrying over to the farm painting. Seungmin returns the sentiment, frowning as he stares at the empty painting frames. They should've seen this coming, honestly, but it doesn't make him any less pissed off.

“Now what?” Changbin asks, but his voice sounds distant. The faint buzzing of his magic rushes through Seungmin’s veins, as though his core was suddenly awoken. He trails his eyes over the destroyed canvases, and remembers when he summoned the painting back at the castle. He walks over to Changbin and kneels next to him, reaching out to run his fingers over the torn pieces. The magic was still there, it just needed to be mended.

“Seungmin?” Changbin sounds confused, but Seungmin ignores him. He closes his eyes and focuses on the quiet buzzing, focuses on bringing it out further. This time, he doesn't use his fear to fuel his magic, but instead he lets Changbin’s comforting presence and the thoughts of returning to his friends spur him on. The buzzing grows stronger, he can feel it in his fingertips, familiar and safe. 

He hears a gasp next to him, and when he opens his eyes, the painting is as good as new. He touches the surface, watching it ripple like water, and he smiles. 

“You’re amazing.” Changbin breathes. Seungmin glances over his shoulder at him, smiling softly, before he sets the painting against the wall and stands up, brushing himself off. Changbin stands as well, their hands finding each other.

“No matter what happens, we’re in this together.” Seungmin says. Changbin meets his eyes and nods, and Seungmin takes a moment to just memorize his features. 

“Together.” Changbin whispers, and then they step through the painting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmmm hehehe, see you next week :)
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


	6. The Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didnt edit this chapter very well and i had changed some things so like ... if u happen to see "lover" anywhere ignore it ahaha

_You have me. Until every last star in the galaxy has died, you have me._

  
  
  
  


Minho and Chan wear matching looks of shock when they resurface on the other side of the painting. Jisung is sitting next to them, his legs crossed and his fingers toying with a piece of grass. He just looks amused, and a little proud, as if he saw this coming the whole time. Seungmin suddenly wonders if _he’s_ gifted with farsight.

Seungmin can’t help himself. He throws himself at Minho, hugging the man tightly. Minho chuckles, wrapping his arms tightly around Seungmin. 

“I was so scared, that night at the dinner. You looked so hurt-” Seungmin gasps, his hands fisting the back of Minho's shirt.

“Please, that was nothing,” Minho scoffs. “Just an exes quarrel.”

Chan snorts. Seungmin leans back, looking between the two in surprise, but Minho laughs. “Chunghee can’t hurt me – wait, let me rephrase that. He refuses to hurt me.”

“Aw, thinks you’ll come crawling back?” Changbin coos. Seungmin throws a glance over his shoulder, meeting Changbin’s smirking face.

Minho shrugs and detaches from Seungmin. “Something like that.”

“Anyways,” Chan interjects. “The frame kept flickering, we weren’t sure what was happening.” He explains when Changbin shoots him a confused look. Chan’s eyes flit to Seungmin, then, his expression shifting into something different. The latter is suddenly reminded of all those weeks before, right before he and the others were taken to the castle, the suspicious look Chan had given him. With a scowl, he meets Chan’s eyes with a challenging glare. The older man just looks away.

“All the paintings in the warehouse were destroyed, but Seungmin mended this one.” Changbin explained, smiling proudly at Seungmin.

“You _what?!”_ Minho looked at him, disbelief written all over his face. “Is that even possible?”

  
  
“Apparently it is.” Seungmin answers quietly.

“I told these idiots but they didn’t believe me.” Jisung pipes up, tossing the piece of grass into the wind and standing up. “Now, stop gawking at each other and let's get back to the grotto. We have some people who are dying to meet their king.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The grotto was a big hole in the center of a mountain on the southeast end of the country, in the border between kingdoms. The entrance was a hard-to-find, small cave opening in the rockface, the tunnel leading deeper underground damp and claustrophobic, but the cave it opened into was big enough to house a small army – which is exactly what it was doing, it seemed. 

Tents were pitched, closely packed together, and all kinds of races milled around, sharpening weapons or banging away at anvils. Women and children sat at the bases of waterfalls, the women collecting water in clay jugs and the children playing around in the water. Strange, red-glowing birds flew overhead, squawks escaping their beaks and echoing around the area. The main source of light came from a natural skylight at the top of the cave and torches staked into the ground every few feet. 

Seungmin stands up on his toes to scan the area further. A smile pulls at his lips when he sees the familiar shape of Felix’s silhouette. 

“Lix!” He shouts, waving his arms. His friend whips around, searching for the source of the yell, and they smile when they see Seungmin. The others stop as Felix hurries over to them, eyes sparkling. Seungmin’s smile grows. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Felix’s face falls ever so slightly, their pointy ears quivering and flattening backwards, a pained expression taking over the one of joy. “My forest is dying. I couldn’t do anything to stop it. We all had to evacuate, live to see another day..” They say softly. “Chunghee is draining the magic from everything.”

Seungmin’s heart stops. He looks at Minho and Changbin, both wearing matching expressions of concern at the news. Seungmin frowns and grabs Felix’s hands, squeezing them gently. “I’m going to fix this.”

Felix manages a soft smile. “I know you are, chosen one.” 

With a sigh, Seungmin ruffles the nymph’s mint green hair, drawing a small giggle from them, and lets Changbin lead him away as Felix turns to return to what they were doing. 

Changbin nudges Seungmin with his shoulder. “You okay?”

“I just want to win this.” Seungmin murmurs. “I want to fix this world. I want to do a good job.”

Changbin stops him for a moment, reaching up to brush his bangs back. “I know you do. And we will win.”

Seungmin nods, his eyelids fluttering as he leans into Changbin’s touch gratefully. “Together.”

Changbin’s thumb runs across the apple of his cheek. “Together.”

Seungmin opens his eyes to see a creature with long deer antlers protruding from her head and goat legs for a bottom half approaching them, her eyes watching Seungmin curiously. Seungmin hesitates, pulling away from Changbin to face her. With a smile, Seungmin lifts his hand and waves it through the air, creating a small fire-flower that blooms and glows in their faces. The creature’s eyes light up in awe, and then she bows to Seungmin, causing the latter’s eyes to widen in shock. Minho chuckles and waves her off before gesturing for Seungmin to follow him. 

Seungmin hesitates, glancing at Changbin with a frown. Changbin smiles though, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Go on. I’ll find you later, okay?”

“Okay.” Seungmin whispers. He hesitates, almost wanting to say something more, before he just shakes his head and hurries after Minho. “Where are we going?”

“To meet someone. She’s been very eager to finally speak to you in person.” Is all Minho provides before silently leading Seungmin through the tents. Families sit outside, cheerfully chatting away or playing around, as though nothing was wrong. 

A small child runs up to Seungmin, her eyes wide in wonder. Seungmin glances at Minho, hesitating a moment, before kneeling in front of the child. She smiles, holding out a blue, glowing flower as an offering. Seungmin smiles and takes the flower, but instead of holding onto it, he gently places it in the child’s hair, tucked behind her ear. She gasps, eyes sparkling, and she runs off as her cheeks turn pink. Seungmin breathes a small laugh, watching her excitedly ramble to her parents.

“Seungmin!” Minho calls him. Seungmin looks up, hurrying along the path to catch up with the man. “I see you’re getting along with the people.”

He finds himself speaking before he can stop himself. “Minho…” Seungmin mumbles. He doesn't know why, but despite everything, the man makes it easy to trust him, even with the odd aura he puts off. Minho glances at him out of the corner of his eye, urging him to continue. “I don’t feel like I deserve to be their–” A pause, and then breath, and then,” Their _leader_. Changbin’s… supportive and tries to comfort me but I can tell that even he’s hesitant.”

“I know that when the time comes, you’re going to do what you need to.” Minho reassures, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I have faith in you and Changbin. I think this time will really be different. Your people believe in you.”

“Have you known the others? Before us?” Seungmin asks curiously.

Minho doesn't answer right away, clearly choosing his words carefully. Finally, he exhales with a nod. “Yes, I did. Not all of them, but I knew your previous incarnations. The consequences of their actions were not pretty, and they almost destroyed this place. I feel like the technological advancements would be very different if it weren’t for them.”

“Really?”

Minho hums, nodding in confirmation. “This world was just a heaping wasteland for a long time. Then the king rose to power from a desolate little town far away from here. He fed off the Tower’s power for a long time, used it for… what he deemed _good,”_ He pauses, a distant look in his eyes. He looks _sad._ “But then he became… hungry, unsated. He abused the power it gave him, using it to control those who would not bend to his will, so the Tower took away his privileges.”

“You talk about the Tower as though it’s alive.” Seungmin observes.

“In a way, it is. Ancient magic surrounds it, dark, yet inviting, but unyielding all the same.” Minho waves his hand through the air, shadows swirling around his arm. It reminded Seungmin of the king’s guard, and suddenly their existence made much more sense. “It’s alive due to the souls trapped in its walls, and as long as we keep it alive, it keeps us alive.”

“So… as long as the Tower stands, the king is undefeatable.” Seungmin murmurs. He’s forming an idea already. 

Minho stops in his tracks. He looks at Seungmin, frowning just slightly, yet he sighs. “Yes, I suppose so.”

“Say it was destroyed. That would turn the tide of war in our favor, correct?” Seungmin asks. Minho looks conflicted, but Seungmin had already taken his situation into consideration. Slowly, Minho nods. “And souls can be returned to their hosts, yes?” He pushes, leaning towards the older man slightly. 

It's then that Minho’s expression changes into something more hopeful. “Yes, I believe so.” 

Seungmin smiles. “Good.”

Minho smiles as well, any traces of fear or defeat swimming in his features is gone as quickly as they appeared. “Come, Joohyun has waited much too long.”

  
  
  


Bae Joohyun is a beautiful woman, dressed in traditional robes, swirling designs of mountains and cherry blossoms woven into the fabric. Her hair fell around her face in silky waves and beads clacked against each other around her neck. When she moved, it was with purpose and grace, and she held years of wisdom in her eyes. Seungmin felt a little intimidated in her presence, but his curiosity was stronger.

“King.” Joohyun breathes, circling him slowly. 

“Seungmin.” He tries correcting her.

She pops up in front of his face, her eyes blazing. “I know your name, King. You do not need to correct me.”

He opens his mouth to respond, but decides against it. He glances at Minho instead, who just watches in amusement. Joohyun steps back, seemingly satisfied. “Yes, you are strong, powerful. You are just what was promised to us, you’re going to lead us all into a new age. There may not be need for any new incarnations after you and Changbin are finished with your work.” 

“Oh…” Seungmin looks down at himself with a frown.

“There is something you must see.” Joohyun says, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the back of the grotto. He shoots a glance over his shoulder, Minho nodding reassuringly at him. He really has no choice but to trust the man, and focuses on following Joohyun without tripping over his own feet. 

She leads him down a dark, dank tunnel, water dripping from the roof and stalagmites and stalactites growing from the floor and roof around them. The tunnel begins to grow narrower as they continue down it in silence, and just as Seungmin starts to panic from the claustrophobic feeling, they emerge in a somewhat smaller cave. 

It's dark, Seungmin’s eyes trying to adjust when Joohyun pulls him over to the wall, grabbing his hand and lifting it, his fingertips coming in contact with a torch. He gets the idea, focusing on his magic, and the torch lights immediately. He does it to the rest in the room, and when he finally turns to face the woman with him, she’s standing in front of a book on a stone pedestal, her face illuminated almost hauntingly by the torch light.

“Are you ready to learn who you are?” 

Seungmin glances between her and the book, before slowly approaching. When he’s next to her, she flips the book open, and Seungmin immediately feels a rush of energy surrounding them. Hushed whispers echo around the room, the lit torches flickering and flaring. This magic was different from his and Changbin’s, ancient, intimidating. The very magic that runs through the world, powering it. Keeping it alive. All of his past lives’ memories surface and his head swims as he and Joohyun read through the book.

  
  
  
  


There’s chatter all around him. 

When he blinks his eyes open, he sees that he’s in a ballroom. Men and women flit around the floor, beautiful shades of red, blue, and purple mixing together as Seungmin watched. He looked down at his hands, only to find they were more delicate than his own. He tilts his head curiously, and then realizes he’s wearing a dress rather than a suit.

Oh. It’s a memory.

“Miyeon!” Someone calls, and it takes Seungmin a beat to realize that they’re calling to _him._

He turns, and his stomach drops. 

There stands Chunghee, youthful face shining and eyes sparkling. He looks happy, he looks kind.

“Ah, there you are, darling.” Seungmin hears from his own mouth. _Darling?_

Chunghee’s smile only grows. His hand slides around his waist, and then they’re gliding across the dance floor. The adoration in Chunghee’s eyes as he stares into them makes the hairs on the back of his neck rise, but he knows it is not for him.

“We survived.” Chunghee murmurs.

“Magic survived.” Miyeon answers.

“The new age has arrived.” Chunghee nods.

Everything changes, and he’s standing in a forest. The trees are dying.

A hand tightens around his own. He looks to his left, gaze landing on Chunghee again. The man frowns, eyes scanning the tree canopy. A leaf drifts down and he catches it. 

“What do we do?” He asks. He sounds sad. So different from the man Seungmin knows now. What happened to him?

“We heal it, of course.” Seungmin - No, Miyeon, says. Seungmin kneels, watching his hands dig into the dirt. Golden light emanates from his arms, and it spreads through the dirt, up through the trees and bushes. What was a dying forest is now a thriving paradise. 

_Can he do that?_

Smoke rises in the distance. Seungmin watches from the balcony. Fear bubbles inside of him.

“Miyeon.” A voice calls softly. They turn to see a woman, hair red as fire and eyes golden. She looks kind. “Chunghee has returned. He is with the Queen.”

The throne room is silent as he walks down the aisle. Eyes follow him, calculating his every move. He feels like a piece of meat.

Chunghee kneels at the steps leading up to the throne. The queen stares down at him from above, sword directed at his face, eyes blazing.

“Tell your lover what treason you have commited.” The queen snarls.

Chunghee’s head shoots up. He meets Seungmin’s - Miyeon’s eyes, regret filling his gaze. Tears roll down Seungmin’s cheeks. 

“ _Tell her!”_ The queen screams.

Chunghee rises. “The king is dead.” 

He’s on a hill now.

Chunghee stands a couple paces away, fists tightened at his side. He looks angry now. His face is marred with fresh wounds.

“What did you do?!” Miyeon screamed. Seungmin felt tears on his cheeks, hot and wet. “Answer me, Chunghee!”

A breeze blows past, bringing the metallic smell of blood and death. Seungmin stiffens.

Chunghee meets his gaze, eyes dark. “I did what I had to.”

“You levelled an entire village!”

“I saved you!”

“Well, I didn’t ask you to.”

Chunghee screams and spikes of ice fly through the air at Seungmin. He feels the magic in his veins as a wall of fire shoots up between him and the man. He watches the icicles melt and evaporate. He watches Chunghee’s eyes blaze. He watches shadows fly straight through the fire and send him flying through the air.

He wakes up in a tent. 

The smell of herbs fills his senses. He groans and sits up, and comes face to face with Minho, except his eyes are brown and his skin is smooth. 

“I was beginning to think you’d never wake up, chosen one.” 

“What have I told you about calling me that?” Miyeon’s voice says. So he’s still in the memory.

“I apologize, Miyeon.” Minho says, but he doesn’t sound sorry, only amused.

Seungmin’s body hurts. He watches Miyeon flex their fingers, he feels the pain shoot up their arms.

“Test your magic.” Minho instructs. “Make sure it still works.”

A flame flares in Seungmin’s palm, warm and comforting.

“Good. You can still fight.”

He’s on the hill again. Chunghee is mounted on a horse, the steed’s eyes red and blazing. Chunghee’s wounds are just scars now.

“What a shame, my love.” Chunghee calls. “That when we are on the battlefield, it is on opposite sides.”

Fire crawls up Seungmin’s arms. “You can still stop this, darling,” He hears Miyeon say. “There’s still time. There’s still _good_ in you. You don’t have to be like the others.”

“I chose this.” Chunghee says.

The scene shifts again.

Seungmin lays on the grass. Soot and sparks fly past his face. His vision wavers, going in and out of darkness. His body feels numb.

A silhouette comes into view. He blinks once, then twice, and then Chunghee’s face becomes clear. God, how he despises the man.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers. He sounds sincere. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

And then everything goes black.

  
  
  


He gasps, stumbling away from the stone podium. He struggles to catch his breath, gulping in air. He flinches when hands gently grasp his own.

“Breathe, my king. Slow breaths.” Joohyun instructs. Seungmin blinks a couple times, meeting her eyes. She nods encouragingly. “Breathe.”

He takes as deep a breath as his lungs would allow and slowly exhales. His head is spinning. They were right about Chunghee, but they didn’t know about the woman. _Miyeon._ Who he has been, and who he will never be again. Her death was tragic, and he felt powerless in watching it – feeling it? 

“What did you see?” Joohyun asks once he’s relaxed.

“I saw my past self. I saw the king.” He murmurs. His eyes drift to the book, still open, still whispering. “I saw myself die.”

“And what did you learn?”

“Too much.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The light filtering through the skylight at the top of the big cave is dimming as the sun sets, bathing the grotto in a deep red glow. Seungmin parts ways with Joohyun when they emerge from the tunnel, and she smiles at him. He just turns away from her and makes his way towards the tent at the back of the encampment that the woman had told him was where he’d be staying. 

His mind is jumbled with everything he had learnt. It wasn't just his history, but it also told him how to better handle his magic. He didn't know what a lot of it meant, but it was helpful, in a way. 

The ones that had come before him always did more damage than good, leaving behind a bigger mess to clean up than they had originally tried to deal with. A lot of the stories told lined up with the dreams he’s had, and not much of it was good, which wasn't comforting.

Not to mention, he’s angry that Minho kept this from him.

He sighs as he comes to a stop in front of the tent, staring at his hands. He doesn’t know what to do with any of this information. He looks around at the tents surrounding his own, the families he was suddenly responsible for, the lives he needed to protect. He would die trying, if it came to that, even if he felt he wasn’t worthy of the title they held him in so confidently.

“Seungmin.” Changbin’s soft voice calls to him from inside the tent. He shakes himself out of his thoughts and enters, making sure to tie the tent flaps together so they could stay unbothered, and out of habit from needing to lock the bedroom doors every night at the castle. When it’s just the two of them, everything else fades away. In these four walls, just for the night, nothing else matters except them. 

Changbin sits on the bed pushed against one side of the tent, his eyes kind and his smile soft, opening his arms invitingly.

Seungmin doesn't hesitate to cross the distance between them and crawl into Changbin’s lap, hiding his face in the man's neck and wrapping his arms around him. “I’m not sure how much you’ve… seen or heard but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“These memories are for you, not for me. Whatever you’ve learned, I don’t know any of it, but I’m not going to make you talk about it.” Changbin reassures. “It’s up to you whether you want to tell me or not.”

“Thank you.” Seungmin whispers, and then Changbin maneuvers them so they're laying under the covers, limbs tangled in each other and faces only centimeters apart. Seungmin reaches up and traces his fingers along the man’s cheekbones and down his jaw. It doesn't matter how much he looks at him, he’ll always be surprised by Changbin’s beauty. 

“I missed being able to hear your thoughts.” Changbin murmurs, his own hand reaching up to push Seungmin’s hair back. “Missed being able to hear how beautiful you find me.”

Seungmin’s heart stutters in his chest at the realization that his admiration for Changbin was _not_ a secret. He hides his face away in Changbin’s chest, drawing a chuckle from the man. He could feel the vibrations of it from where his fingers rested against his chest. It’s then that he realizes Changbin had changed since he saw him last, his bloodied clothes replaced with a clean and simple loose top, the strings that held the front of it in place left untied and exposing the skin underneath. 

Bravely, he trails his fingers along the scars, and Changbin releases a shuddering breath. Seungmin rolls the man onto his back and Changbin stares up at him, confused but trusting, as he sits up and carefully untucks his shirt, lifting it up enough to reveal the bandages. 

“May I heal you now?” Seungmin asks, resting his hand on the side of Changbin’s stomach that wasn’t injured. Changbin just nods, staring up at him with so much fondness and trust that it causes Seungmin’s heart to backflip. 

He carefully tears the tape and Changbin sits up long enough to let Seungmin unwrap it completely, his hands braced on the latter’s shoulders. Seungmin smiles at him, reaching up to brush his hair back for a moment. Changbin’s eyes flit down to his lips, and Seungmin quickly eases him down before his heart explodes in his chest.

He looks at the wound on his side, the stitches crusted with a little blood, but otherwise it’s still clean. He really is proud of his handiwork. With a deep exhale, He holds his hand over the wound, closing his eyes and focusing his energy to the center of his palm. He imagines the skin pulling itself back together, mending carefully, leaving behind no scar. 

When he opens his eyes again, he’s met with soft, complete, unwounded skin where the gashes had been, and he smiles, gentle trailing his fingers over the spot. Changbin’s hands rest on his cheek, drawing his attention.

“Thank you.” Changbin says.

Seungmin smiles, trailing his fingers along the scars on his chest. Changbin shivers, but otherwise stays still as he watches Seungmin’s face. “You are beautiful, Changbin.”

The man looks back at him so adoringly, and it brings tears to his eyes. It’s in that moment that he realizes just how hard he’s fallen for Changbin, with his sharp edges, his kind eyes, his rough voice. His jokes, his words of comfort, his stories. His pride, his confidence, his determination. Changbin truly is perfect.

“You’re beautiful too.” Changbin murmurs, and then he hugs the younger close as Seungmin’s entire face heats up. 

“Sure,” Seungmin snorts, and carefully pushes Changbin down before curling up against his side. “Go to sleep.”

“Okay, okay.” Changbin giggles, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of his head before pulling him close. “Sleep, my King, and dream of the stars.”

A smile tugs at Seungmin’s lips as he snuggles into Changbin’s chest and lets sleep pull him under, dreaming of starry skies and picnics with Changbin.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin wakes to the sounds of giggling above his head. 

He blinks his eyes open with a groan, and comes face to face with two children hovering over him. When they realize he’s awake, they gasp, running out of the tent with squeals. Seungmin sits up, staring at the tent flaps with a scowl. “Suddenly I miss the privacy of the castle bedroom.” He grumbles.

“Except for the days that Hyunjin would wake us up.” Changbin says from the side opposite Seungmin. Seungmin looks over at him, watching the man fasten a belt around his waist. A decorated sword hung off his hip, the ornate, golden pieces set in the sheath glinting in the dim candlelight.

“I especially miss those days.” Seungmin murmurs, looking down at his lap. 

“We’ll get them back.” Changbin reassures him, walking over to rest his hand on his shoulder. Seungmin looks up at him and just nods, hoping he’s right. “Chan, Minho and Jisung will probably be waiting for us. I’m guessing you’ve got a plan?” 

“The workings of one.” Seungmin replies.

“Alright then. Get changed and meet me outside when you’re ready.” Changbin nods, patting his cheek gently.

Before Changbin pulls away completely, he runs his fingers through Seungmin’s hair a couple times, and then he turns to leave. Seungmin watches him go, waiting until he’s left alone in the tent. He holds his hand up, watching as fire weaves around his fingers. It felt much more natural now, comforting rather than terrifying. 

He sighs, sliding off the bed and grabbing the clothes laid out for him on top of the chest at the back of the tent. Another sword lays at the foot of the bed and Seungmin guesses it’s for him, but he doesn't need it. 

He takes his time dressing and fixing his hair, and once he deems himself presentable, he emerges from the tent, blinking his eyes to adjust to the light, scanning the surrounding area. A few people at the tents closest to his don’t hesitate to bow as soon as they see him, and he quickly waves them off. There’s no need for that.

“Come on.” Changbin appears at his side, grabbing his hand and leading him towards a bigger tent near the middle of the encampment. Seungmin tries to ignore the various pairs of eyes on them as they pass everyone, and only when they duck into the big tent does he finally relax. 

Jisung looks up from where he's crouched on a big table in the middle of the tent, a small trinket in his hand. Chan and Minho look up from chairs at either side of the table, and just as Seungmin’s about to step forward to address them, a new voice speaks from his left.

“And there’s the man of legend!” Says a short man, hair bright red. He wears a long trenchcoat, the ends torn and frayed, and there’s a ring on each of his fingers. His ears are decorated with various earrings, and when Seungmin finally meets his eyes, he sees that one of them is covered by an eyepatch. The thing that unsettles Seungmin the most is the man’s voice, sounding as if there’s multiple of them speaking at once through his mouth. The two other men standing behind him smirk at Seungmin’s shocked face.

“I thought he’d be taller.” The shorter man mumbles, and the taller man snickers in response.

“Who…?” He asks, confused, glancing at Minho.

“Pirates.” Minho provides, amusement evident in his voice, as he gestures to the man in the trenchcoat. “That's captain Kim Hongjoong of the Aurora,” He points at a fox-like man, one side of his white hair shaved and his eyes ice-blue like Minho’s. His scars start from the left side of his face and twist down to the left side, disappearing down the back of his neck. “Choi San,” And then he gestures to the last one, the tallest of the three, with dark hair and piercing eyes, a gnarly cheek scar on the left side of his face and another stretching from his jaw to just under his right eye. “And Park Seonghwa. The rest of their crew is probably on their ship.”

“Pirates…” Seungmin repeats, his eyes trailing over the three men. San stalks forward, leaning in towards Seungmin. He cocks his head, smirks, and steps back to stand next to the captain, whispering something in his ear. Hongjoong’s eyes sparkle, a grin spreading across his face as his gaze flits excitedly between Seungmin and Changbin. “I’m hoping they’re here to help, correct?”

“We are.” Hongjoong answers. He lifts up the cane in his hands, and Seungmin just barely notices that it’s not just any cane, there’s a blade hidden inside of it. 

“For free, or is there a catch?” Seungmin asks, approaching the table finally. Jisung hands him the thing in his hand, and he realizes then that it’s in the shape of a ship, and then he notices that the table is one big map. 

“This man knows his stuff.” Seonghwa says, amusement laced in his tone.

“Consider it a favor, chosen one.” Hongjoong smiles sickly sweet, and Seungmin can tell there’s definitely a catch.

“And I’ll owe you one in return, correct?” He says, setting the ship piece on the table and shooing Jisung off the table. “Nothing comes for free.”

“You’re smart, I’ll give you that.” The captain chuckles.

“The fate of all our worlds hang in the balance, and you’re worried about favors.” Seungmin mutters. His eyes scan the table, finally spotting the Tower. Minho leans forward, curious as to where Seungmin’s going with this. “What would you want in return?”

Hongjoong chuckles, walking over and placing a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder as he leans against the table. On the outside, it would look like a friendly gesture, but the way the captain is gripping his shoulder says differently. “That’s the fun thing about favors, chosen one, you never know when or what you’ll need them for.” 

Seungmin hears Changbin shift behind him, and the unmistakable sound of a sword being pulled just barely from the sheath. He holds his hand up, warning his friend to hold. If he was going to lead, he needed to play things smartly. He turns to face Hongjoong, leaning in just slightly. “Consider me allowing you immunity in my kingdom when all is done my favor in return. Take it or leave it.” 

“Seungmin, I don’t think—” Chan tries to intervene, but Seungmin waves him off. He knows what he’s doing.

Hongjoong meets his eyes levelly, expression unreadable. After a few seconds of baited breath and tense air, the captain smiles. “Deal.”

Everyone in the room exhales in relief, and Seungmin himself feels all the tension leave his body as well. “Now, what can you provide us?”

Hongjoong looks at his men, eyebrows raised, and then he shrugs, gesturing vaguely. “We have good fighters, strong weapons.”

“A flying ship.” San adds, his lips curling into a smirk when Hongjoong shoots him a glare.

“Is that so?” Seungmin asks, turning his attention to the map. “Well, it just so happens that we need air power.” 

“We do?” Chan asks, looking between him and Minho in confusion. Minho lifts his finger to his lips, telling Chan to be quiet.

“We’re going to destroy the Tower.” Seungmin nods, grabbing the pirate ship piece and setting it next to the Tower. 

Jisung, with a grin, unsheathes a tiny knife from his belt and stabs it into the image of the building. “Fucking finally. I’m tired of that damn place.”

“Minho—” Chan gasps, despair etched into his features. The blue-eyed man just smiles softly at him. 

“I can release the souls.” Seungmin says. A surprised sound leaves Hongjoong’s lips. “At least, I hope I can. The book says it's possible, but…” He trails off, staring at his hands. To be able to tap into the deep magic running through his veins and the very core of this world, he has to want it. He does, he wants it so badly, but it feels like there’s still something blocking him. He just can’t figure out _what._

It’s funny, when he first came here, he thought things were so simple. He and Changbin would fight a king, and despite being destined to destroy each other, would dodge their fate. The more he learned though, the longer he was here, it became apparent that everything was much more complicated than that, his history was much more complex than he thought. The book he read with Joohyun told of his destiny, told him that he was so much more than everyone thought he was. 

“Seungmin, what’s going on in that head of yours?” Changbin asks, stepping forward and lacing their hands together. 

Briefly, Seungmin wonders why he’s asking if he should already know, but he figures he’s probably gotten better at locking up his mind than he originally thought. 

He glances at Changbin and shakes his head, turning his head back to the table. “We’ll just need a small group to go to the Tower. Enough to throw bombs overboard as soon as the souls are out. I’ll try to leave the King’s in there, destroying it along with the Tower, making him easier to defeat.”

“I’ll come.” Jisung volunteers, leaning on the table again. 

“No, I need you, Minho and…” He pauses, glancing at Hongjoong. “Is there anyone on your crew that’s good at stealth missions?” He asks, and Hongjoong gestures to San. Seungmin nods. “You, Minho and San will go into the castle and find the castle staff and Hyunjin and Jeongin. I want to know they’re safe before we do anything, and then I’ll need you all here to protect the people while we’re gone.”

Jisung glances at Minho and then at San, and then he nods. Hongjoong pulls himself up onto the table then, leaning in close to Seungmin’s face. Seungmin can feel Changbin tense next to him, but he doesn’t falter as the captain speaks. “Blowing up the Tower is easy said in theory, but where are you going to get the bombs?”

“You’re a pirate, aren’t you? I’m sure you can procure something for me.” Seungmin answers cooly. “When you do, I’ll enchant them so they do their job correctly.”

Hongjoong narrows his eyes at him, and then he shrugs. “Fine. Does that mean we have our jobs?” 

“Yes. Take your crew and find me some bombs, but leave San.” Seungmin nods, waving him off. San replaces him at his side as Hongjoong and Seonghwa leave the tent. “As for you three,” He nods at Minho, Jisung and San. “I want you to sneak into the castle tonight and find our friends.”

“They’re not my friends.” San mutters, and snorts when Seungmin glares at him. “I’m kidding, jeez. You’re wound tighter than a spring. Relax, Chosen one.”

“I’ll relax when we’ve won.” Seungmin mutters, and dismisses the three of them. He’s left with Chan and Changbin, then, but Changbin doesn't take long to notice the tension between the other two. He lifts Seungmin’s hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it, before leaving them alone.

“You’ve always been unreadable, Chan.” Seungmin says softly, staring at the table, trying to figure out a strategy they could use with the land _not_ crawling with the king’s guard.

“Comes with practice.” Chan’s voice is calm, guarded. The way he inhales is preparatory, giving away that he’s not as collected as he seems.

Seungmin looks up at him with a frown. “You’ve always been unreadable, until you met my eyes right before we left for the castle. You looked suspicious of me.”

Chan pauses, processing the statement, and then he sighs. “You chosen ones have never brought anything good. I’m just… worried.”

Well, it seems like Chan saw no reason to withhold the truth. Seungmin narrows his eyes at the man. He holds himself up on the table, leaning in towards Chan. “Look, Chan,” Seungmin begins, the table burning under his touch. The blond sitting in front of him has at least half a mind to look worried. “We were close, during those months back home. I value that time and I value our friendship. So be as worried as you want, but be warned that if you try to get in my way of saving everyone _because_ of your worry, I will not hesitate to strike you down.”

Chan meets his gaze confidently, his expression giving nothing away. “I wouldn’t dream of it, King.”

“I’m not like those before me.” Seungmin mutters, standing up straight. “I will not be like them. We’re all surviving this.”

Chan watches him closely, and then he just nods, standing up from his chair and walking towards the tent flaps. He stops right before he leaves, turning to look back at Seungmin. “For everyone’s sake, I hope you’re right.” And then he leaves.

And Seungmin hopes he’s right, too.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Sidestep, Seungmin!” Changbin yells. “I said _sidestep,_ not deflect!”

“Sorry!” Seungmin yells as he ducks under the blade swinging at his head. 

His sparring partner, Ten, was one of the best swordsmen that Changbin knew apparently. Seungmin could see why, considering the man treated fighting as if it were a dance. He was fast as he stepped around his opponent, lunging in to get a hit and immediately jumping out of the way before the other person had a chance to react. Changbin had wanted Seungmin to train with him in hopes of helping him get used to more intense types of sword fighting.

“I would’ve thought the Chosen One would be better at something like this.” Ten sneered, though there was no real bite to his tone.

“He took his time getting here, is all.” Changbin snorted. Seungmin would glare at him, but he knew better than to take his eyes off his opponent – especially since he was on the defense right now.

Ten swung his practice sword at Seungmin’s waist, and Seungmin just barely managed to block the attack at the last second. He uses Ten’s surprise to his advantage and slides his blade along the other’s, hooking the handle guards together and twisting the sword out of Ten’s hand, letting out a triumphant yell when the sword fell to the dirt.

“Impressive.” Ten compliments, rubbing his wrist before picking up the sword and swinging it around a little, a smile on his face.

“Thank you.” Seungmin bows just slightly. “I have a good teacher.”

“Flattery won’t get you any points, Seungmin!” Changbin barks, though he barely conceals a grin.

“I can’t compliment my _fated other half_?” Seungmin pouts, blinking innocently as he runs a hand through his sweaty hair, and feels joy swell in his chest when Changbin’s face turns red.

“Well, when you put it like that.” Changbin mutters, shifting his weight between his feet as his cheeks turn red. Seungmin giggles and crosses his arms, jutting out his chin confidently. Changbin smiles, momentarily forgetting the whole reason they’re out here in the first place, and then he huffs. “Yah, I said flattery won’t get you any points! Swords up!” 

Seungmin laughs and lowers himself into the offensive position since he started out on the defensive last time. 

“You two are gross.” Ten mutters, his eyes narrowing at Seungmin.

“Shut up, Ten.” Changbin shoots back, crossing his arms as he smirks. “You and your lover are worse, and Seungmin and I aren’t even together.”

Seungmin feels his heart shatter.

“Oh, whatever.” Ten grumbles, but a smile threatens to crack his annoyed facade.

“Run it again.” Changbin instructs, clapping his hands to give the go signal.

The sun is slowly setting when Changbin finally allows them to stop. They’re both drenched in sweat as they bow to Changbin. Drops of sweat drip off of Seungmin’s nose as he stands up straight and waves to Ten as the man hurries off.

“You did really well today.” Changbin comments when he hands Seungmin a towel. “You seemed more alive.”

“Did I?” Seungmin asks as he pats himself down with the towel. 

Changbin hums in response, his eyes trailing from Seungmin’s face to his neck. A shiver runs down his spine. “You need to wash up.”

“Are you saying I’m stinky?” Seungmin snorts, patting his neck a couple times before tossing the towel back in the box that Changbin had got it from.

“I’m _saying_ you’ll feel better after a bath. Sword training takes a toll on the body and you always complain about feeling sore in the morning.” Changbin scoffs as he grabs Seungmin’s hand and leads him towards the assorted waterfalls near the back of the grotto.

There’s no one else there when they arrive, everyone probably gathered around a fire or retiring for the night back in the camp, so it’s just Seungmin and Changbin. The latter smiles as he slips his hand out of Seungmin’s grasp and undresses, tossing his clothes to the side—leaving him in only his underpants. Seungmin averts his gaze until he hears the sound of Changbin wading into the water over the roaring noise of the waterfalls around him.

“You coming?” Changbin calls, swimming further into the pool. Seungmin glances around the area to make sure they really are alone before slowly undressing himself. It really does feel nice to peel off his sweaty clothes. 

The water feels amazing on his already aching muscles when he follows Changbin into it. He sighs contentedly, letting his body relax and float on top of the water. He reaches Changbin, his friend gently catching him to keep him from floating away. Their eyes meet when Seungmin looks up at him, a small smile gracing the man’s features. 

“There’s stars in your eyes.” Changbin whispers, reaching up to wipe just under Seungmin’s eyes–presumably to get a drop of water.

“Oh yeah?” Seungmin smiles, appreciating the feeling of Changbin’s hand on his back under the water. 

“Hmm...” Changbin hums and, after a beat of silence save for the sound of the waterfall, smiles. “Yeah. You’re the brightest star in the sky.”

“Only if you’re a star up there with me.” Seungmin murmurs. He straightens up to look Changbin in the eyes properly.

Changbin brushes his wet bangs off his forehead and rests his hand on his cheek, his expression softening even more. “I promise.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The moon hangs high when Seungmin shoots up from the pillows. He feels like something’s wrong, his nerves tingling and his senses alert. He reaches over to wake Changbin, but his friend is gone, his spot long empty, the sheets cold. Panic rises in Seungmin’s chest as he throws the blankets off and runs out of the tent. The encampment is quiet, families resting in their tents, completely undisturbed, but Seungmin can’t shake the feeling that something is horribly, undeniably, wrong.

He notices movement off to his right, just as someone disappears past the tents. As he runs after them, he feels heat gathering in his palm, ready to attack if it’s someone here to harm them. 

The stranger leads him along the riverbank and towards one of the waterfalls, disappearing behind it and leaving Seungmin confused. He carefully peeks around the water, finding a small tunnel leading away from the grotto. With a scowl, he makes his way through the dark space, fire dancing in his palm to light the way.

When he’s beginning to think that the stranger might be leading him to his doom, he sees a light at the end of the tunnel, and the outline of someone sitting at the hole that led out. He creeps forward slowly, fire growing, ready to defend himself if need be.

“I was wondering if you’d follow me.” A familiar voice says, and Seungmin drops his hand to his side.

“Changbin.” He breathes, relieved, walking around to sit next to the man.

“Not quite.” Changbin murmurs. When Seungmin looks at him, his blood runs cold. The veins on his friend's face are black and blue, his skin a pale, sickly color. It travels all the way down his neck and past his collar, and Seungmin can only imagine how much of his body it covers. 

“H-How—” He chokes out, reaching a hand to touch Changbin, hoping he could just take it away, but the man jerks away from his outstretched hand.

“It’ll spread to you too.” Changbin shakes his head, but smiles sadly. His eyes give away his desperation, his longing to hold onto Seungmin.

“Changbin, what happened?” Seungmin whimpers.

“You happened.” Changbin replies, then turns his gaze to the moon.

Everything stops. Seungmin feels like he was just doused in ice-cold water. “What?”

“You fell for me.” Changbin’s voice is angry, cold, distant. It sounds a little off, but Seungmin can barely focus past his head swimming. “That’s against the rules. We’re supposed to destroy each other, not fall in love. I mean, that wretched king is a perfect example.

“Changbin, what are you- What?” Seungmin sobs out. When did he start crying? The tears are hot on his cheeks, hot like the flames he could create, but it didn't burn.

“ _You’re the reason I’m going to die!”_ Changbin shouts, slamming his fists down on the ground beneath him, and the entire mountain shakes. Rocks fall around them, deafening, unforgiving, and Seungmin panics. Changbin is right. They’re not supposed to love each other. They’re not supposed to be together. He can’t even protect him from the foe. How _foolish_ of him.

_My fault, my fault, my fault._ Seungmin chants in his head as his hands come up to grip the sides of it. Changbin is laughing maniacally next to him as the mountain continues to fall apart around them, threatening to take all of them with it.

_“I’m sorry.”_

  
  
  
  


_“Seungmin!_ ” 

His eyes fly open with a gasp. Hot tears are still rolling down his cheeks, his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. There’s a comforting weight in his lap, and he looks up to see Changbin looking down at him worriedly. Quickly, he sits up and grabs the man’s face, inspecting it closely. When he’s sure his face is clean, he grabs the bottom on his shirt and pulls it up, running his hand over the expanse of his stomach and chest, checking for any sign of the infection. 

“Minnie, relax- hey, I’m okay.” Changbin grabs his wrists as Seungmin whimpers, panic still clutching his heart. Changbin drops his hands in favor of cupping his cheeks, and Seungmin meets his eyes as a sob rips through him. “Seungmin, you healed me. I’m okay. It was just a nightmare.”

“It felt _so real.”_ Seungmin whispers, his voice breaking. Changbin presses a gentle kiss to his forehead before wrapping his arms around him firmly and hugging him close. Seungmin cries into his shoulder, his hands clutching the front of his shirt as if it’s his only lifeline.

“It's not your fault, okay?” Changbin murmurs. “It will never be your fault.”

Seungmin can only nod, not trusting his voice right now. Changbin holds him as he cries, whispering words of comfort and rubbing his back in circles. 

Eventually Seungmin calms down, the tent falling silent once more aside from their breathing. “I was so scared I would lose you.” Seungmin rasps after another moment, his throat raw from crying.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Changbin says, voice firm, leaving no room for arguing.

“Bin?”

“Yeah?”

Seungmin hesitates, frowning, and then his hands tighten in Changbin’s shirt. “If something were wrong, you’d tell me, right? Like you promised?” He asks softly. “I just… I know I’m dealing with a lot but you’re always right there to comfort me. I just want to do that for you too — I-I mean, you’re not obligated to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but… I’m here, whenever you do. I want to give back what you give me.”

He feels the need to ask again, especially after that moment back at the castle when they were escaping. He remembers asking why Changbin couldn’t just teleport them away, and the silence that followed hung heavy around them. He frowns, reaching under Changbin’s shirt to run his hands along the expanse of his stomach to his back, holding him tightly.

Changbin doesn't answer immediately, and Seungmin almost worries, almost fears that the hesitation is enough of an answer, but then his friend is nodding. “I know, Minnie. If anything is ever wrong, I’ll tell you, I promise.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Seungmin feels unconvinced, but he ignores it as he leans back, meeting Changbin’s eyes. He looks for any sign of insincerity, anything that might give away that he truly believes what he said in the nightmare or that he might be lying about the promise. When he finds nothing but fondness, he nods and lays back, pulling Changbin down with him.

“No matter what happens, we’re in this together.” Changbin whispers as he rolls off to lay on the bed, hugging Seungmin to his chest to protect him from the nightmares.

“ _Together.”_ Seungmin returns.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Seungmin.”

He groans, pressing his face into the pillows. 

A fond chuckle. “Seungminnie, we have to meet the others.”

“Five more minutes.” Seungmin mumbles. His body feels sore from training for the past couple of days.

“You sure? ‘Cause our rescue mission returned.” 

Seungmin’s eyes fly open at that. He meets Changbin’s eyes, and it takes a simple nod and a smile from his friend that tells him all he needs to know. He throws the covers off his body and scrambles to collect his clothes from the ground, barely stopping long enough to shake them out before tugging them on. Changbin laughs, helping to steady him when he almost falls over due to his leg getting stuck. 

As soon as he's dressed, he runs out of the tent, scanning the encampment in hopes of spotting the rescue party. Changbin follows him, letting him know that they’re in the war tent, and Seungmin all but sprints in the direction of the big tent.

Just as it comes into his line of sight, two people step out of it, and tears burst in Seungmin’s eyes at the sight of his best friends. He throws himself at them when they call his name and hold their arms out, and they engulf him in the warmest hug he’s felt in awhile.

He jerks back after a second and grabs Hyunjin’s face, inspecting it for any wounds. When he finds none, he does the same to Jeongin, earning teary giggles from them both. When he’s positive they're unharmed, he hugs them both again, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry we left you there. I’m so, so sorry.” He cries out.

“Minnie, it’s okay.” Hyunjin reassures. “We know that whatever happened, you wouldn't have left us on purpose.”

“Changbin accidentally revealed me to the king and we ended up back in our world and he almost died because he got hurt.” Seungmin’s rushes out. Hyunjin makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat.

“You did what you had to in the moment. Besides, you only blew your covers, not ours. The king asked us about you, if we had any idea you were in the castle, but we told him we didn't.” Jeongin explains. Seungmin nods and the younger pulls away from him when Changbin finally reaches them, but Seungmin still holds onto Hyunjin.

“Hey, kid.” Changbin chuckles when Jeongin hugs him tightly. He ruffles the boy’s hair and hugs him back, smiling widely at Hyunjin as he did. The latter returns it before turning his attention back to Seungmin.

“I was so worried you’d get hurt or- or worse.” Seungmin whispers. 

Hyunjin hugs him even tighter, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Minnie.”

Seungmin snorts and leans back, reaching up to squish Hyunjin’s cheeks with a smile. Hyunjin rolls his eyes, but his smile makes it hard to believe he’s even mildly annoyed. When Seungmin finally detaches from his best friend, Changbin rests a hand on his shoulder to gently guide him out of the way so he could hug Hyunjin. The younger boy accepts it immediately, nuzzling the side of his head a bit before pulling back.

“For someone who’s almost died twice, you’re practically glowing.” Hyunjin jokes, and then his eyes flit to Seungmin, a smirk on his face. “Could there be a reason?”

Seungmin feels his cheeks heat up as he averts his gaze with a scowl. Changbin and Jeongin laugh at him. “You could say that.” Changbin shrugs, throwing a glance at Seungmin over his shoulder. The boy just rolls his eyes.

Ryujin and Yangyang come up on Seungmin’s side and he smiles, patting both their cheeks and accepting a hug from Ryujin. Jinyoung bows to him, low, and Seungmin chuckles nervously as he gently guides the man up by his shoulders. “No need for that.” He murmurs.

“Jackson,” Changbin speaks up, approaching the older man. Jackson looks over at him questioningly. “Take everyone and make sure they get settled. I think you all deserve some rest.”

“Thanks, Changbin.” Jackson smiles, resting a hand on Changbin’s shoulder before gathering up the group of people that had come from the castle, leading them off to the tents. 

Seungmin sighs, meeting Changbin’s eyes. His friend nods, smiling softly, and Seungmin feels his shoulders relax. _Thank you,_ He thinks, and Changbin’s smile grows, giving him a subtle nod.

“Your reunion over now?” Minho speaks up from where he’s standing at the tent entrance. Seungmin wonders how long he’d been standing there. “Come on, kids. Time to get ready for our attack on the Tower.”

Hyunjin and Jeongin glance at Seungmin in confusion, and he shakes his head. “I’ll explain later if all goes well.” Is all he tells them. He walks into the tent, vaguely hearing Changbin tell his friends to find Felix and rest for now. Neither Jeongin nor Hyunjin protest, it seems, because Changbin enters a second later.

“So, Seungmin, what’s our plan?” Jisung asks, once again sitting on top of the map table.

Seungmin walks forwards, pointing to the wooden pirate ship piece next to the image of the Tower. “We’ll take a ground crew to keep the base clean in case the king has guards there. Our pirates will fly overhead and get me close so I can release the souls, and then they’ll bomb it.”

“How many people will we need?” Minho steps up, staring at the map.

“You and Jisung are definitely staying so you can keep the people safe. I’m leaving you in charge while I’m gone.” He points at Minho, and then looks at Chan. “How many people here are capable fighters?”

“We’ve got plenty of people, really. We may not have an army like the king, but all our people are stronger.” Chan provides.

“We’ll need enough to fight.” Seungmin nods. “Go find a group of people, but make sure some stay behind to defend the grotto.” 

“Wait-” Changbin grabs Seungmin’s wrist momentarily. When he’s sure he’s got everyone’s attention, he speaks. “Maybe this should be a stealth mission. If we go in with a whole group, we’re more likely to be caught.” He explains, leaning on the table and pointing at the path from the grotto to the Tower. “If we go around, fly high with the Aurora, we can make it past nearly undetected. There won’t be any problems.”

Chan and Minho share a glance, and then all eyes are on Seungmin, waiting for his decision. Seungmin frowns, contemplating Changbin’s suggestion. On one hand, it’s a better idea simply because it doesn’t waste lives, on the other hand, they could be completely exposed from the ground. 

Though, he refused to spill any more unnecessary blood, so he nods. “Okay. We’ll go in that way, then. Chan, Minho, Jisung, go let the pirates know that we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning as soon as dawn breaks, that way we have time to prepare. Changbin and I will leave with them—but just us. I need you all here to defend the grotto in our absence.”

Jisung gives him a small salute before climbing off the table and following Chan and Minho out. Seungmin exhales, staring at his hands before looking at Changbin. “Am I doing okay?”

“You’re a natural.” Changbin reassures him, a proud smile on his face.

Seungmin smiles softly and opens his mouth to say something more when someone at the entrance to the tent clears their throat. Seungmin looks over to see Felix standing there with their eyebrows raised. “Am I interrupting?”

“What is it, Lix?” Changbin asks, his voice a little exasperated as he crosses his arms.

The nymph snorts, taking a step into the tent. “The trees can help.”

“The… trees?” Seungmin raises an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t help overhearing your plan. They can conceal you from below and keep the surrounding forest closed off so no one can ambush you while you do your job.” Felix explains, walking over to the map table. They gesture to the images of the forest surrounding the Tower. “I’ll have to come along to ask for their help, but it can be done.”

Seungmin shares a glance with Changbin before nodding in response to the nymph. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Mhm. Anything to help the rebellion.” Felix murmurs. They sound distracted, but Seungmin doesn't push. After a moment, the nymph turns on the ball of their foot. “I’ll talk to the captain, then.”

Seungmin nods, watching them go. Changbin reaches up and rubs his arm. “We should probably train a little.”

Seungmin looks at him, taking a moment to just admire him. “Don’t do anything stupid without me while we’re out there tomorrow, okay?”

Changbin chuckles. “I wouldn't dream of it, my King.” 

Hearing Changbin call him that was so much better than hearing anyone else. A pleasant shiver runs down his spine as he chuckles to himself. “Come on, let's go train.”

Changbin hesitates a moment longer, lips parted as if he wants to say something more, his eyes searching Seungmin’s face. Finally, he opts for shaking his head and grabbing Seungmin’s hand to lead him out of the tent.

  
  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Stop!” Changbin barks, as Seungmin and Jisung slide to opposite ends of the small training yard. Bits of fire, in all different colors, burned around them, and sweat dripped from Seungmin’s forehead. “Take a breather.” Changbin adds.

When Changbin had mentioned _sparring_ with Jisung, he had thought that meant sword-fighting. That was not the case, however, he soon found out after Changbin proposed the idea to their friend. Jisung had smirked, turned to Seungmin, and said, _“You didn’t think I was mundane, did you?”,_ a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Turns out, Jisung was as magical as Seungmin and Changbin—almost. His magic sat a little more on the trickery side of things - illusion magic, is what he called it, and he wasn’t wrong. Seungmin had worked himself ragged, flinging fire at fake copies of Jisung surrounding him on the field, only for him to have guessed which one was the real Jisung wrong. It was beginning to get _frustrating._ But he admired Jisung’s skill all the same.

“Where did you even learn magic like this?” Seungmin asks as he finally catches his breath. 

Jisung was still taking a moment to recover, his chest stuttering with each breath he took. Seungmin guesses it probably takes a lot more out of him than he likes to let on. “Well,” Jisung begins, a little breathlessly. “I had always been good with slight-of-hand magic tricks growing up. I thought it was just one of those things, y’know? Like I was a natural prodigy or something.” He shrugs, finally standing up straight and holding up his hand to reveal a deck of cards. Seungmin was hating those more and more.

“When Chan, Changbin and I finally found the paintings and Issinet,” He flicks the cards around, making them disappear in thin air, “I realized that my tricks were actually much more than just prodigal, and that what I had grown up honing was actual, _real_ magic.” He says with a sparkle in his eyes. Seungmin wishes he had been that excited about his own magic in the beginning. “It’s a shame it doesn't work very well in our world, but that’s because humans have unfortunately killed most of the natural magic there. There’s next to nothing for us to draw from.”

Seungmin hums in agreement. He hated not feeling the comforting buzz of his magic back on earth. “Why am I just now finding out about this, though?”

Jisung casts a sideways glance at Changbin, his lips turning up in an impish grin. Changbin rolls his eyes, but has a slight smile of his own. “Sometimes my magic can get… out of hand. Both Chan and Changbin have advised that I only use it if absolutely necessary, and it never came up in conversation, so…” He trails off with a shrug, meeting Seungmin’s eyes as his own flashed purple. 

Seungmin is glad, in that moment, that he sent Jisung to retrieve the kitchen staff. It’s comforting knowing that Jisung probably had no trouble getting them all out. “That makes sense, I guess,” Seungmin nods. He holds his hands up, watching as weak flames build in his palms. His energy was starting to run out. “The energy you exude when you fight is palpable. It’s amazing, the way it builds up my own energy, as if it’s all working together.”

Jisung approaches him, grabbing one of his hands. He runs his fingers through the fire, and smiles when Seungmin gasps in surprise. His first instinct was to yank his hand away in fear of burning Jisung, but then he realizes that Jisung is fine.

“All magic is alive, Seungmin. It has a mind of its own.” Jisung explains. “It’s able to tell the difference between friend and foe, good and bad. If you treat it well, it will take care of you in return. If you treat those around you well, as will the magic.” He says as he holds his own hand up, a purple mimicry of Seungmin’s fire in his palm. “It just chooses to work with its host, and if its host abuses it, then it stops cooperating.”

“Like the king.” Seungmin whispers when he makes the connection. Jisung nods in response. “I always wondered why my magic took such a toll on my body and energy before, when I was trying to force it with fear rather than work with it with love.” 

“You cannot force magic. It’s like caring for a pet. It needs lots of TLC.” Jisung chuckles, tapping Seungmin’s forehead. “It does not come from fear or anger - however, it can be very powerful and destructive when fueled with anger - but it’s main source comes from love.”

Seungmin’s gaze slides over to Changbin. Changbin raises an eyebrow questioningly, and Seungmin quickly shakes his head to look back at Jisung. “And who do you love enough for your magic to work so well?”

Jisung jokingly gags, retracting his hands from Seungmin and backing up to the center of the yard. “Shut up.” He huffs, but he’s smiling too widely to actually seem like a threat. “I’m gonna kick your ass for that.” 

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Hey, Changbin?”

They’re outside the grotto, on the little ledge that Seungmin had his nightmare, behind the waterfall. It’s actually quite peaceful this time around, their hands clasped and their hearts beating in almost-unison.

“Hmm?” Changbin hums, looking over at Seungmin.

“We were right.” Seungmin murmurs. “About the king.”

Changbin makes a confused sound in the back of his throat. “Which part?”

Seungmin sighs. He shifts to face Changbin properly, reaching up to grasp the sides of his head. Changbin stares at him questioningly, but he stays silent as Seungmin’s eyes close, relaying the memories he had experienced. Not just from the book but from all his dreams and from the door that led to the secret room. Changbin's hands grasp his wrists tightly, grounding himself.

When Seungmin leans back from Changbin, he watches him nervously.

“Holy shit,” Changbin finally breathes, his eyes fluttering open. He meets Seungmin’s eyes, frowning. “Holy _shit.”_

“Yeah,” Seungmin sighs, nodding. 

“How is that even possible- How is my existence possible if he’s still- _What?”_ He sounds distressed. 

Seungmin cups his cheek, running his thumb over the skin there. “Remember that he’s technically not alive anymore. Whatever magic he has comes from the Tower, not the… whatever we are. When he pseudo-died, the cycle probably reset, and then… well, you were born.”

“That’s just so weird to think about, though.” Changbin breathes. “I mean, he’s _me_ from another lifetime. He… he killed the- fuck, Seungmin.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Seungmin says. “We will not be them. We will be better.”

Changbin nods and hugs him tightly. Seungmin hugs him back, running a hand through his hair. A soft breeze blows over them, washing away their fear.

Seungmin shifts closer to Changbin and looks to the sky. The moon shines as brightly as ever, not a cloud in sight.

With a sigh, he tears his gaze away from the moon to look at Changbin, smiling softly. “Thank you.”

Changbin’s expression morphs into confusion. He sits up a little straighter. “What for?”

“For everything, I guess.” Seungmin shrugs as he looks towards his lap. For some reason, he feels uncharacteristically shy about being so vulnerable right now. He just felt the need since they were only hours away from a very dangerous mission, and he’s worried that he might not make it out without telling Changbin how thankful he is for the man’s strong presence over the past couple of months. 

“For training me, for helping me, for–” He hesitates, his breath hitching as Changbin’s hand tightens around his own. “For _caring_ about me.”

“It’s funny how much we’ve changed since we met, in such a short amount of time.” Changbin sighs, a smile in his voice. “When we first met, I was… I was _curious,_ but a smaller part of me was skeptical. You were so against everything that I worried we might fail.” He pauses, gauging Seungmin’s reaction. “So I guess I felt this need to… to try and help you ease into this reality faster, because you were… well, extremely ignorant to the severity of the situation.”

Seungmin blinks once, twice, thrice, and then he looks down at his lap, soaking up what he’s just been told. He chews on his bottom lip, but stays silent otherwise. He guesses that Changbin is _right,_ considering how he viewed the paintings for a long time before he was suddenly told that he’s actually _important_ and his need to explore the worlds beyond the portals was more than just his need for knowledge. Yeah, Changbin is definitely right, he can’t really get mad at him. “Yeah, I was kind of a dick about all of this at first.”

“I mean, you accepted it faster than I expected, but you still… had your moments.” Changbin chuckles, squeezing Seungmin’s hand gently.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get over my whole, _“Oh I’m such a bad leader, you all should just forget about me”,_ bullshit.” Seungmin chuckles a little, or tries to at least, but it falls flat. In hindsight, he was being pretty ridiculous. “But thank you for being so patient with me.”

“I was in your shoes at one point, afterall.” Changbin shrugs. “Well, kind of. Not with the whole, ‘king’ thing, but in accepting my reality as an important piece in this very fucked up chess board.”

Seungmin huffs a laugh, nodding slightly, and then he presses against Changbin to rest his head on his shoulder. “At least we finally got over it.” He murmurs, squeezing Changbin’s hand gently. “Hey, since we’re on the topic.”

“Hmm?” Changbin looks down at him curiously.

“How did you, Chan and Jisung figure all of this out?” Seungmin asks, tracing the lines of Changbin’s hand absently.

“Ah,” Changbin hums. “Well, we knew about the paintings pretty early on. Chan was 19, I was 18, and Jisung was 17 when we learned about them for the first time. Jisung got a dream and wouldn’t let it rest until we went with him to check it out. Minho was waiting on the other side and managed to convince us to listen to him.” He laughs softly. “He’s good at that. Very persuasive.”

Seungmin nods in agreement. 

“We spent… months here, maybe a year, scouring every last library, town, whatever we could find for information, history, people who would help. It was stressful. I was in your shoes for a lot of it, you know? Super skeptical, being a real hardhead.” He explains, his tone somewhat joking with the last part. It makes Seungmin smile. “It was during those months that I stumbled across the Tower.”

“Yeah?” Seungmin lifts his head to look at Changbin.

“I don’t remember a lot of what happened but I know that I still get these like… phantom pains in the tattoos and scars sometimes.” Changbin gestures to his stomach, his brow furrowed. “They took months to heal.”

Seungmin reaches over and places a hand over the scars, as if to tell Changbin that it’s okay. His friend’s body relaxes instantly, and it brings a smile to Seungmin’s face. “How did you find out about me?”

“Kept having dreams.” Changbin shrugs. “And then we found that book that Joohyun showed you, and that answered any questions I had.”

“You’ve read the book?” Seungmin pauses, eyes wide as he sits up more.

Changbin nods, glancing behind him into the tunnel before turning his attention back to Seungmin. “Yeah, except… I think it changes depending on the reader. Whatever I read was not what you read. At least, not all of it.”

“Oh,” Seungmin breathes, dropping his gaze to his lap for a moment before resting his head on Changbin’s shoulder again. “Huh.”

Changbin runs his thumb across his knuckles. “I wish I’d found you sooner.”

“I wish you’d found me sooner, too.” Seungmin murmurs. He can practically hear Changbin smile then.

Changbin sighs softly, pressing a kiss to the crown of Seungmin’s head. “Whatever happens tomorrow, I’ve got you, okay?” 

“I’ve got you, too.” Seungmin says, and then a silence settles over them as they watch the moon and stars.

Whatever happens, he’s happy for the time he got.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Hongjoong’s crew was, well, _interesting,_ to say the least.

There’s Wooyoung, the half-blind, long black-haired boy that everyone seems especially wary of. His fingers are decorated with shining jewels and a multitude of earrings dangled from his slightly pointy ears, the biggest tell (aside from the boy’s unnaturally golden eye) that he was, in fact, not human. 

Jongho, a somewhat short, yet well built boy who regarded Seungmin and Changbin with curious yet guarded eyes. The underside of his hair was shaved and his left leg looked a little unnatural, as though it wasn’t real. A couple of scars ran across his bare arms and across his cheeks, like he’d gotten in some nasty fights. A creature that resembled a lemur cooed from his shoulder, big, round, golden eyes following Seungmin across the deck. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

Mingi, a tall, dorky kid with a heavy broadsword strapped to his back and an axe hanging off his hip. He followed Seungmin around the deck like a puppy. The sides of his head were shaved and his hair was a striking color of orange. Golden earrings hung from his ears, glinting in the sunlight filtering into the cave. 

When Seungmin asked why he was following them, Hongjoong explained that Mingi is blessed with farsight and practically idolizes Seungmin and Changbin, calling Seungmin ‘king’ (not surprising), and Changbin ‘lord’. The two had shared a curious look. That’s the first time that they’ve heard of Changbin being referred to as a lord.

Yeosang and Yunho seemed to be the most wary of Seungmin. Yeosang was the cook, with the most simple outfit out of the crew so far. A couple of knives hung off his belt and his eyes were ice-blue like Minho’s, except his scars were hidden under his clothes. Seungmin felt bad that the Tower had gotten two of Hongjoong’s crew.

Yunho was tall like Mingi, except calmer. He had kind eyes, however cautious he may seem, and at least tried to be good-mannered when he smiled at Seungmin. His hair was expertly trimmed, hanging just above his eyebrows, and he had two, very simple, golden hooped earrings. He seemed nice enough, Seungmin supposes. Like someone he could get along with, were the circumstances different.

All in all, they were just what Seungmin expected from a pirate crew, yet completely new and different at the same time. He hopes he can trust them.

“So, Chosen one,” Hongjoong speaks when he finally finishes introducing everyone. They stood at the ship’s wheel as the crew went about finishing any last preparations to set sail. Even Changbin was helping a little. “What’s our plan?”

“First of all, please just call me Seungmin.” Seungmin sighs, waving his hand a little. Truthfully, he’s beginning to get tired of the titles. “And, as for the plan,” He glances off to the left, where Chan and Felix are chatting quietly. “My friend says they can provide cover for us so we aren’t ambushed when we destroy it. Should be easy enough.”

“I do hope you are right, Seungmin.” Hongjoong sighs, staring at his crew. “I’m risking the lives of my crew, who I have sworn to protect, for you. If any one of them dies…” He trails off, but something about the way the other voices mixing with his own grew more prominent sent an unpleasant shiver down Seungmin’s spine. He got the memo.

“Of course.” He murmurs.

Changbin looks up at them and waves, a grin on his face. He pulls on the rope in his hands, tightening it, and the ropes attaching to the sails tighten as well. At least he’s enjoying himself. 

“You two are close, yes?” Hongjoong asks, leaning on the ship’s wheel and nodding towards Changbin.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Seungmin mutters.

“I won’t judge. I myself am… close, to someone.” The captain says as his eyes drift elsewhere. Seungmin follows his gaze, his eyes landing on Seonghwa. Somehow, it made sense. “Love is a dangerous game these days.”

Seungmin hums, looking towards Changbin. He hadn’t considered the idea of _love,_ per say, but Changbin was special to him, in a way no one else was. “I personally think it's the safest game in times like these. If you don’t have love, you don’t have hope.” He murmurs, and suddenly things made sense. “And if you don’t have hope, you might as well give up.”

Hope. Something he’s been struggling with the past couple months. Something Changbin, Hyunjin, Jeongin, all of them, have had since the start. He didn't understand how, since it seemed like every step they took forward was another ten steps back, but he realizes now what it means to have hope. Why they’re able to hold onto it. Because of their loved ones. Because of _who_ they’re fighting for. It’s a lot like what Changbin said when he explained how to better summon their magic. 

He realizes that the reason he never gave up is because deep down, he did have hope. He just didn't realize it. Besides, why else would he have put so much effort into training?

He isn’t sure what exactly prompted the realization, but he has a feeling Changbin has a hand in it, just like he usually does. The raven-haired man looks up at him again, a knowing smile on his face. Seungmin feels him relax just at the sight of it. 

“Hmm,” Hongjoong smiles, leaning towards Seungmin. “You are a fine king.”

“I’m no king yet.” Seungmin shakes his head, watching Changbin and Yunho. The taller man was waving some cards around, probably showing Changbin some card tricks, judging from the way his friend’s eyes sparkled. “I want to earn the title, not take it for granted just because everyone calls me that.”

“And you believe this little adventure we’re about to take will earn you your rightful title?” Hongjoong asks.

“No, not this.” 

“Then what?” 

Seungmin glances at him, and then down at his hands. “When we win.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin decides he does not like flying.

The ship moves fast through the air, yet you can’t even tell. Hongjoong explained it’s magic, the gravity on the ship unaffected by the altitudes and the wind seemingly bending around it. Still, every time Seungmin glanced off the horizon, he could _see_ how fast they were moving, and then it’s almost as if he could feel it. He feels nauseous.

Their journey is on its second day, the path to the Tower taking longer than Seungmin realized. Hongjoong told them it was nestled deep in the mountains, in a valley surrounded by thick woods—Changbin had been surprised by that, but he couldn't figure out why. The path itself was dangerous, if you went on foot, but being able to fly high above the mountain ranges and forests blocking their way made things much easier.

“Hangin’ in there?” Yunho asks as he walks over to Seungmin, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword and his head cocked curiously.

“Oh, yeah, totally.” Seungmin mutters through gritted teeth. His stomach churned and the deck under his boots was smoking. 

“Don’t like heights?” Yunho chuckles, leaning against the wall and staring out the window. 

Seungmin grunts, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply through his nose. “Something like that.”

“Your lover boy is enjoying himself.” 

Seungmin shoots the tall man a glare. “He’s not my lover.”

Yunho looks down at him, his expression softening despite the amused look in his eyes. “Do you want me to get him?”

“If I wanted him here, he’d know. Let him have fun.” Seungmin sighs. His shoulders droop just a little and a smile tries to fight its way onto his face from the thought of Changbin enjoying himself. He deserved it, considering what’s about to happen.

“Okay, well,” Yunho pauses, glancing out the window again, and then he pushes off the wall. “We’re almost there.”

Seungmin mutters his thanks and lets his eyes flutter closed, inhaling slowly. He wills himself to ignore the fact that they’re flying, that they’re _in the air._ He’s going to have to get used to it, and quick, because he has more important things to tend to. 

With a deep exhale, he forces himself to stand up and follow Yunho up the steps, the wood under his feet sizzling as he leaves behind footprints in the shape of his boot. He hopes Hongjoong won’t mind.

“Minnie!” Changbin’s voice catches his attention. He stops at the entrance to the brig, meeting his friend's eyes. Immediately, any nausea or anxiety he had been experiencing melts away, replaced only by relief and comfort. Changbin smiles knowingly before beckoning him over. Without hesitation, he crosses the deck to him and Changbin’s hands slide into his own, squeezing gently. “Feeling okay?”

“Getting there.” Seungmin nods. He leans forward, bumping his forehead against Changbin’s. “I’ll be better once we’re off this damned ship.”

“Don’t let Hongjoong hear you talk about his ship like that.” Changbin jokes, and then he lowers his voice as he continues, as if sharing a secret. “Between you and me, I think he’s married to it or something, with the way he talks about it.”

Seungmin can’t help the ugly snort he lets out, followed by quiet giggles. Changbin smiles so widely, proud of himself for managing to make Seungmin laugh. With a soft chuckle of his own, he pokes the tip of Seungmin’s nose before leading him to the bow of the ship. 

They watch as the tree canopy bends and molds around them just as Felix had promised, keeping them concealed from anyone who might want to do them harm. In the distance, Seungmin can just make out the blurry outline of a tall, menacing structure through the fog, and he doesn't even have to wonder what it is.

“I can feel it.” Seungmin whispers, his hand tightening around Changbin’s. “The Tower. It’s- It’s dark, feral magic. Like… like what I felt with Joohyun but the opposite.” He swallows, hard, his heart in his throat. “This place has never been loved.”

Changbin glances at him with a frown, his thumb rubbing across his knuckles. “It will be.”

Seungmin meets his eyes, his soft, gentle eyes, and he decides that for just this moment, he can truly believe that they’ll be okay. He actually lets himself have a sliver of hope. “I know.”

Changbin smiles and turns to face him, reaching a hand up to rest it on his cheek, giving Seungmin no choice but to keep his eyes on him. He knows what Changbin is doing, memorizing his features, and he does the same. _Just in case._ He tells himself.

and then Changbin is pulling him down into a kiss. 

He jerks back, eyes wide in shock. He opens his mouth to say something, anything, but Changbin presses his hand to his mouth to silence him.

_Just in case we don’t make it back._ Changbin says in his head. Seungmin feels tears burn at his eyes.

“Places, everyone!” The captain barks out the order. “We’ll be arriving in just a moment!” 

“We’ve got company!” Wooyoung calls from the crow’s nest, his voice panicked.

“Be safe.” Changbin whispers to Seungmin before he hurries down the steps to join the others at the ropes to try and help keep the ship steady.

Seungmin stares after him for a moment longer before shaking himself out of it and hurrying over to the side of the ship, gripping the edge and leaning over to try and catch sight of the ground. The trees are still concealing them from below, but it does nothing against attacks from above, it seems.

The ship jerks to the right just as something whistles through the air towards them. Seungmin yells out in surprise, just barely managing to stay upright as they shoot up in the air to avoid any more catapults.

“Chosen one!” The captain’s voice reaches his ears from the opposite end of the ship. “Be ready!” 

He calls back something akin to an answer, he hopes. He can’t really make out his own voice over the rest of the commotion around him. The air shifts as they begin slowing down, and when Seungmin looks ahead, he sees it.

The Tower.

It looks like any old structure, made out of grey stone and covered in vines. It stretches high into the clouds above, making Seungmin wonder just how tall it actually is. That’s not what bothers him most though, what bothers him is the waves of power pouring off of it, making the tips of his finger tingle. He can hear whispering, but he can’t make out any distinct words. He looks to his left, catching Changbin’s eyes, and it takes just a curt nod from his friend to tell him that he hears it too.

“Seungmin,” A hand lands on his shoulder. He looks up to see Seonghwa looking back at him. “You need to bless the bombs.”

“I wouldn’t call it a blessing.” Seungmin grimaces, but follows the tall man down the steps and back into the brig, following him to a collection of crates near the back. Seonghwa cracks open the tops, revealing stacks of sphere-shaped bombs, the smell of gunpowder and sulfur reaching his nose. He coughs, covering his face with the collar of his shirt.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Seonghwa snorts, not sounding sorry at all.

Seungmin just rolls his eyes and waves his hand through the air in an attempt to diffuse the smell a little before dropping his shirt and holding his hands out over the bombs, letting his eyes fall shut. Immediately, he can feel the surge of power through his arms, down to his fingertips. He focuses all of his energy into it, into leaving bits of his destructive magic in the bombs themselves. _Fighting fire with fire,_ he thinks, or in this case, fighting magic with magic.

When he opens his eyes again, Seonghwa is staring at him in awe. “I could feel it, the magic. That’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.”

“Yeah.” Seungmin sighs, brushing his hands off on his pants to try to rid them of the weird tingling feeling. “Well, chosen one things, I suppose.”

“Huh.” Seonghwa nods, staring at him for a moment longer before grabbing one of the crates. Seungmin grabs the other one, following him up the steps and onto the top deck. 

Hongjoong meets them at the edge of the ship. “So, how are we doing this?”

“You have cannons, correct?” Seungmin asks, his gaze trailing back to the Tower. It feels… scared. As though it knows what's about to happen. With a frown, he scans the rest of the crew, finding Changbin, Yeosang and San huddled together. He has a feeling they’re affected by whatever’s going on with the Tower.

“We do.” Hongjoong nods.

“Okay.” Seungmin turns back to them. “Wait for my signal then. As soon as the souls are out, I’ll call for you to bomb it—if that’s how it works. Actually, give me an hour. If I haven’t succeeded in that time, we’ll just… live to see another day.”

Hongjoong and Seonghwa share a look, and then they nod in affirmation. Hongjoong calls for Yunho and Mingi and the four of them head off with the bombs to prepare. 

Seungmin hurries over to Changbin and the other two. “Maybe you should teleport the three of you elsewhere, just a little farther away from the tower.”

Changbin’s face falls as he looks between the other two and then back to Seungmin. His expression morphs into something else, and it takes Seungmin a moment to realize that he looks _guilty._ “I… I can’t.”

“What do you mean?” Seungmin asks slowly, frowning.

“It’s not working.” Changbin admits, averting his gaze to the deck below them. “My magic hasn’t been working.”

Seungmin feels a mixture of anger and concern bubble up inside of him. “Why didn’t you—”

“Seungmin!” Yunho’s voice catches his attention. He looks over his shoulder, catching the pirate’s eye. “We don’t have time for you to have a conversation!”

“Right.” Seungmin hisses, turning his attention back to Changbin for a moment. The man shrinks a little under his gaze, and Seungmin can’t bring himself to get angry at him right now. Changbin is going through enough as it is, with the Tower in this state. With a sigh, he runs his thumb across Changbin’s cheek, a promise to talk later, and stands after squeezing San and Yeosang’s shoulders. They look grateful for the physical reassurance.

As Seungmin makes his way back to the bow of the ship, Joohyun’s words from the cave come back to him. _“To achieve your goal, you must let go, my King. Otherwise, you will fail”._ He remembers the weird shiver he felt shoot down his spine back then, but now he just feels a weight settle in his heart. Letting go didn’t seem like the key to unlocking his “great power”, because it was the attachments he had that helped him control the magic thrumming in his veins. 

“I love my friends.” He whispers to himself, looking down at his fingers. “That is magic in and of itself.”

And then it’s like he’s moving on instinct. He climbs up onto the edge of the ship, his gaze fixed on the Tower. _Let me in,_ is what he thinks, but the words out of his mouth are something entirely different, a language he doesn't understand. He doesn't have the chance to question it, though, because suddenly he’s blacking out, the world fading away around him.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm late with this update and i'll be honest i almost forgot about it ,,  
> also i think this is the longest chapter in this fic ?? so thats fun
> 
> hope u enjoyed! see u next week. i'll MAYBE upload the last 2 chapters together but i'm not sure yet, we'll see
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


	7. let go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feeeeeeelings this chapter :)

_ I can do this. And even if I can’t, I have to. _

  
  
  
  


Dreamy laughter is what Seungmin hears first.

He blinks his eyes open, his senses slowly coming back one by one. He’s in a hallway, elegant patterns etched into the walls and candelabras lit with blue flame lining them, shrouding the corridor in a cold glow. The carpet under his boots is blood red to match the tapestries hanging from the ceiling, threatening, like swords poised to stab through his heart.

He shivers.

He looks down at himself, dressed in a white and blue suit. See-through lace is woven into the shoulders and on the sides of his waist and a half-cloak with gold embroidery hangs off his shoulder. The outfit is much more elegant than anything else he’s worn in the past couple months, and he feels a little out of place.

He wonders if Changbin would like it. 

“My King.” A woman’s voice grabs his attention. He whips around, meeting the eyes of the newcomer. She holds herself with a certain grace, like someone with years of knowledge and confidence, the velvety red and blue ball gown hugging her body adding to that. Hair the color of blood spills over her shoulders, framing her face, and bringing out her strikingly golden eyes. Something about her makes Seungmin think of a dragon. “Are you coming?”

He nods, but it’s as if he’s not in control of the gesture. The woman smiles, holding a hand out for him, and he joins her side. As they walk in silence down the hall, the sounds of music, laughter and voices reach his ears, though muffled.

“Where are we going?” He asks, his voice sounding warped and foreign.

“Silly King.” The woman chuckles, squeezing his arm where she’s grasping it. “You’d lose your own head if it wasn’t attached to your shoulders.” 

She doesn't answer his question, and only leaves him more confused as she eventually pulls away from his side and tells him to wait when they reach a set of grand, golden doors. Seungmin stops just as he was instructed, but it’s another action he’s not in control of. Almost like a dream of a memory, and he’s just forced to watch as he recounts the events.

The doors swing open and the source of the music is revealed. Warm light spills through, washing away the cold blue of the lit candelabras. The woman walks forward, her hands resting on the bannister in front of her and she commands the attention of the room. Immediately, the music and voices fall silent, and Seungmin waits in anticipation, breath baited.

“The moment you have all waited for!” The woman announces, her voice powerful as it rings around the room. “Your king has arrived.” She says as she steps away from the bannister, lowering her body into a bow. The guards holding the doors open bow as well, their armor clanking noisily as they do. 

Seungmin, against his own will, bows to them before marching towards the bannister, resting his hands on the cool, dark wood. Immediately, as soon as the men and women in the room below catch sight of him, they erupt into joyful cheers, clapping loudly and calling his name. He feels the sound pound against his skull like drums, rhythmic, painful, as though trying to break through. He squeezes his eyes shut, feeling the ground below him swaying.

When he opens his eyes again, he’s in the ballroom, standing on the edges as he watches women in dresses made of red and blue silks glide across the floor and men dressed in silver and black suits spinning along with them. A smile tugs at his lips as he taps his foot along to the music. Something in the back of his head is nagging at him, telling him there’s something he’s supposed to be doing, but he pays it no mind. This is fun. He likes watching the pretty men and women dance.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” A familiar voice catches his attention. He glances to his left as Minho comes to a stop at his side, nodding slightly in response. “It’s a celebration.”

Seungmin hums, returning his gaze to the dancers. “Celebration of what?”

“Of you, my King.” Another voice answers, and Seungmin feels the familiar touch of Changbin’s gentle hand pressing into the small of his back. His friend hooks his chin over his shoulder, his breath ghosting over his neck as he speaks into his ear so he could be heard over the music. “You won, Minnie. We won.”

“Mm,” Seungmin leans his head back just slightly, his lashes fluttering against his cheeks. His head feels light and fuzzy, dreamy, almost. Changbin’s hand slides from his back to his waist, his hand warm through the lace. That nagging feeling is back, itching at his skull, trying to get his attention. “What did we win?”

“The war.” Changbin whispers, his words emphasized by a kiss on Seungmin’s cheek. He swings around to stand in front of him, grabbing his hand and bowing to press a kiss to his knuckles as well. “May I have this dance, my King?”

Seungmin opens his eyes to look at him again, smiling still. His friend is dressed in a beautiful indigo and cerulean suit, his hair styled neatly over his forehead. His eyelids are shimmery and his lips look glossy. He looks every bit the royal he pretended to be. 

He gives the man a lopsided smile. “A dance?” He asks, and then the music changes to something slower. “Sure, a dance sounds wonderful.” He adds, and allows Changbin to guide him onto the dance floor. His hand finds Changbin’s waist as the latter’s hand takes residence on his shoulder, but he allows Changbin to lead as they begin moving to the music. He’s never really been one to waltz, afterall.

“Things are perfect.” Changbin comments. Seungmin tilts his head in confusion, his gaze trailing from Changbin’s eyes to his hand on his friend’s shoulder. A ring rests comfortably on his ring finger, and when he looks at Changbin’s hand, he sees a matching golden band there as well. Yeah, perfect, he supposes. But when did they get married? “You defeated Chunghee.”

“Mm, good for me.” Seungmin jokes, even though he starts to feel off, like the feeling of slowly sobering up after a night of drinking. When did that happen?

Changbin chuckles, low and rumbly. Seungmin can feel it under his fingertips, vibrating nicely. He wants to feel it again, so he smiles brightly.

“What are you smiling about?” Changbin asks as he swings Seungmin around, fingers dancing along his lace-covered waist. The warmth seeping into his skin is euphoric.

“You’re beautiful.” Seungmin shrugs. “Ethereal, incandescent, absolutely and utterly perfect.” 

Changbin laughs, and Seungmin is so, so happy. It spreads through his chest and makes his skin tingle pleasantly. He could just stay like this forever. 

As they glide across the floor, Seungmin catches sight of one of the other dancers, their eyes meeting, and a bolt of fear shoots through him. He’d recognize those eyes anywhere. 

With a gasp, he stumbles and detaches from Changbin and watches as Chunghee waltzes past him with the red-headed woman from before. Their eyes stay locked until another couple steps in the way, obstructing their views of each other.

“Seungmin?” Changbin’s voice reaches his ears, but he sounds wrong. Seungmin snaps his head around, his gaze meeting Changbin’s. He tries to reach out for him, but his fingers phase through the man’s arm, and then everything shifts. 

The ballroom is suddenly dim and cold, wallpaper peeling and chandelier candles long since put out. The men and women are no longer dancing, their feet rooted to the ground — literally. Shadows wrap around their legs, their torn and frayed clothes swaying slightly as though a breeze ruffles them. Except the air is still and unsettling, and that itch in his skull returns, except this time he pays attention to it.

“Changbin—” He calls out, and only manages to take one step before the room shakes, dust falling from the ceiling. Seungmin holds an arm over his face to protect it from the debris as he crosses the room, throwing open the ballroom doors to be met with a dark hallway. He casts one last glance over his shoulder, before rushing out into the hall, stumbling as he runs down the seemingly never-ending corridor.

Dust and bits of ceiling continue to rain down on him, catching in his hair and sliding off his shoulders. He holds his hand up, fire bursting in his palm, which he uses to light his way. 

The hall comes to an abrupt end, as a door appears in front of him. He skids to a stop, staring at the intricate carvings on the front of it. It reminds him of the door back in the castle, the one that leads into the secret room.

And then he realizes it’s the same carving, and everything makes sense.

“Alright, Tower,” He murmurs, holding the flame up to the door. “What are you hiding?”

The second he touches the door ring to open it, everything goes dark and he’s falling through a void. A shocked yell escapes his lips as he free-falls through the cold-air, arms flailing for any sort of purchase before he finally hits the ground painfully.

He sits up with a groan, his entire body aching. He tries to focus his energy to heal whatever bruising he may have, but he can’t feel his magic. Panicked, he holds out his hands and tries to summon his fire, but nothing comes of it.

“Fuck.” He hisses. “Fuck!” 

_ We have waited a long time for you.  _ A voice rings clear in his head then.  _ And when you come to us, it is to take us away. _

His head snaps up, eyes wide as he tries to adjust to the dark. He hears something move off to his side, and his first instinct is to lash out with his fire, before he remembers that’s not going to work. 

Scowling, he pushes himself up onto shaky legs, stumbling to the side. There’s a wall next to him, and he uses that to guide himself as he shuffles forwards. He doesn’t have to walk far before the wall changes and he feels another door.

_ You are weakened.  _ The voice speaks again. It’s louder this time.  _ How do you wish to succeed? _

“Shut up.” He growls and throws the door open. A rush of wind hits his face, chilling him to the bone. The second he steps over the threshold, torches along the wall come to life and cast an orange glow over the room. Seungmin winces, blinking a few times to adjust to the sudden light. 

“You’re here.” A familiar voice catches his attention. He’s right back where he started. Changbin stands in the middle of the ballroom, still dressed in his attire from before. Couples stand around him, frozen mid-waltz, as if waiting for something to awaken them. 

“So are you.” Seungmin answers, leaning against the doorframe. His back is aching more and more the longer he stays standing, and his body is feeling weaker by the second. Whatever the Tower is doing to him, it’s not good.

“You woke up quicker than most.” Changbin sighs, trailing his finger along the arm of a man standing next to him. Somehow, when he pulls his hand away, there’s dust on the end of his finger. Seungmin’s stomach churns. “We expected nothing less, though.”

“What do you want?” He asks, scanning the faces of the other souls. Minho stands at the edge of the dance floor, eyes flitting around. Seungmin wonders if he’s awake. 

Not-Changbin takes a couple steps forward, his heels clicking loudly against the floor, the sound echoing. Seungmin feels oddly panicked as the soul - illusion? - approaches slowly. He tries to straighten up just enough to seem bigger, but then pain shoots down his back, and he crumples in on himself.

“Oh, Seungmin,” Changbin tuts, coming to a stop in front of him. He hooks a gentle finger under his chin and lifts his head up, soft smile on his face. Seungmin feels his heart race as Changbin’s other hand comes up, stroking his hand across his cheek, and the pain melts from his body. “There. Better, right?”

He opens his mouth to respond, when the room comes alive. The couples begin to spin around the dance floor once more behind Changbin. “What-”

“Come, dance with me.” Changbin cuts him off and grabs his hand, leading him to the middle of the floor. Minho is dancing with someone next to them. He tries to meet the other’s eyes, but Changbin swings him around before he has the chance. “Afterall, our last dance was cut so short.”

Changbin doesn’t even  _ sound  _ right.

“This isn’t real.” Seungmin murmurs, trying to worm out of Changbin’s grip. All the heads snap around, all pairs of eyes on him as the room falls silent. With a deep exhale, he lifts his head and glares defiantly at them.

“Of course it’s not.” Minho is the one to answer. Seungmin glances at him, and notices that Minho is the only one who looks  _ scared.  _ Seungmin realizes Minho is the only one who’s awake. “Just do as it says.”

“Minho—”

“Seungmin,” Changbin interrupts. There’s a hand on Seungmin’s chin, guiding him to meet the other’s eyes. “Just relax.”

“I can’t- I-I have to-” He pauses. What is he supposed to do? He isn’t sure anymore, especially when Changbin smiles at him. His mind starts to feel foggy, and he starts to nod instead, but then someone kicks the back of his calf. He jolts, shooting Minho a look out of the corner of his eye.

“You want to do what you came here for, correct?” Not-Changbin asks, his hand falling from Seungmin’s chin to his shoulder. “Free us?”

Seungmin hates this. He hates that the Tower is using Changbin,  _ his  _ Changbin, against him like this. “Yes.”

“Hm.” Not-Changbin hums. He waves his hand and everyone begins to dance again, chatter and music filling the room once more. Seungmin can't make any of their words out, and it only frustrates him further. “Hard to do when your body is so weak, though, don’t you think?”

Excruciating pain shoots throughout his body again. He grunts, fists tightening where they grasp Changbin. It only gets worse and tears gather in his eyes, before he finally screams in pain. He feels his knees give out underneath him and the only thing keeping him up is Changbin. He’s forced to meet the other’s vacant stare, feels his hand in his hair, feels his arms tightening around him to hold him up.

The pain in his body worsens when his magic awakens to try and counter the assault on his body, and it feels like a fire ripping through his veins, and not in a good way. Tears burn at his eyes as he claws at Changbin’s arms, silently begging for it to stop.

“Stay, Seungmin.” He hears Changbin say through the blood rushing in his ears. “Please?” 

And then Changbin’s hand slides to his cheek, and the pain subsides as quickly as it appeared, and he’s left gasping for air as his body recovers.

He meets Minho’s eyes as he swings past, and the man subtly shakes his head, mouthing the words,  _ “Let go” _ . 

“Don’t let go, okay?” Changbin whispers, his tone desperate. Seungmin locks eyes with him, searching for any trace of  _ his  _ Changbin, but there is none. “Please stay a little longer.”

The tone strikes a nerve deep in Seungmin’s chest, and that’s when he understands Joohyun’s words. _“Your life depends on it.”_ She had told him in that damp cave. _“If you don’t let go, you will lose.”_

Seungmin rips himself away from Changbin. “I have to.”

“No!” The man exclaims. The room changes and the souls are gone, leaving them standing in front of each other in the middle of the dark ballroom. “You can stay with us. You won’t have to be afraid anymore. You can be the King you’re meant to be! We can be together.”

Seungmin shakes his head. “I can’t.” He says. “I don’t belong here, and neither do the rest of the people you’ve hurt. They don’t deserve this.”

The man screeches and lunges for him, arms flailing. Seungmin steps to the side, dodging the attack and he grabs the back of his shirt. He’s extremely thankful for the sword training his Changbin put him through, his reflexes having improved greatly. 

He shoves not-Changbin away from him, sending him stumbling forwards. It only takes the other a second to recover before he’s charging Seungmin again, hands grabbing the front of his shirt and shoving him down. Seungmin’s hits the ground and his back explodes in pain, forcing a cry out of him. 

“You won’t fight me.” Not-Changbin growls. “Not when I wear the face of the man you love.”

“But you are not him.” Seungmin huffs, struggling against the other’s weight. 

One of Changbin’s hands releases his wrist and he procures a dagger from… somewhere, holding it up above Seungmin’s chest, the tip directed at his heart. 

Panic rips through him, but his magic is awake again, so he’ll fight through the pain in his body. He presses his free hand against Changbin’s chest and lets a blast of fire escape him, sending the man flying through the air. He scrambles to his feet despite his back screaming in pain and seizes the chance to  _ finally  _ do what he needs to. 

With a deep breath, he holds his hands out in front of him and shuts his eyes, focusing all of his energy in between his palms. He’s not exactly  _ sure  _ what to do, but he has a vague idea. The Tower is pulsing with dark energy, pushing at the edges of Seungmin’s mind. He’s felt it ever since he woke from the false reality, so he figures that the way to counter it is with light. The light burns at his eyelids, bright enough to blind were he to open his eyes and actually look at it.

There’s screaming all around him, digging against his skull and clawing its way into his brain. He shakes his head a couple times, trying to block it out so he can focus on the task at hand, but it becomes too overwhelming. He blacks out, just barely feeling his body hit the ground and continue plummeting through the empty void.

  
  
  
  
  
  


_ Sea salt.  _ It’s tangy on his tongue. He blinks his eyes open, met with the sight of the ocean stretching out in front of him and the sun setting on the horizon, bathing the cliffside in a red and orange glow. Waves wash up against the rocks below and a breeze drags through his hair and across his skin. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Changbin asks as he comes to a stop next to him.

“Yeah,” Seungmin hums. “Is it real?”

_ Am I dead? _

“Hmm?” Changbin looks at him in confusion. 

“This. Is it real?” Seungmin asks again, gesturing out at the ocean. “Did I fail?” He looks over at Changbin, a frown gracing his features as he takes his friend's hand in his own. 

“No, Seungmin.” Changbin says with a smile. He looks back and Seungmin follows his gaze, watching as their friends hurry up the hill to them. “This is simply a safe place while your magic recovers.”

Jeongin and Hyunjin are the first to arrive, Jeongin giggling as he throws an arm over Changbin’s shoulders. “We’re just here to remind you that you’re not alone, Seungminnie.”

“Whatever happens now, we’re with you.” Hyunjin adds, resting a hand on Seungmin’s shoulder. The others reach them, echoing their agreements. Seungmin feels tears burn at his eyes and he turns to allow them to pull him into a hug.

“Thank you.” he whispers, the comfort of their touches following him as everything fades away.

  
  
  
  
  


_ “Seungmin, wake up, please.” _

There’s blurry silhouettes hovering over him, but the light makes his eyes burn and his head scream.

_ “Captain!”  _ There’s so much screaming.  _ “Captain, please help me.” _

Hands under his back lift him up, pressing into the bruising. It hurts so much. There’s more voices around him, too many to make sense. His head aches so much, his stomach churns, and his hands tremble. 

What happened? Where is he?  _ What’s going on?  _ He asks, but no one answers.

Seconds later, he’s laid down on something soft, brushing against his bare skin. Wasn’t he wearing a shirt?

_ “Is he–”  _ A pause, a hitched breath.  _ “Is he going to be okay?” _

_ “He’ll survive.” _

There’s a hand in his, someone’s lips against his forehead, and a tear hits his cheek.  _ “Please come back to me soon.” _

_ Stay with me.  _ He says, but there’s nothing in return.

Sleep pulls him under, and the excruciating pain subsides.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The next time Seungmin comes to, he’s met with the familiar sight of a tent. The strong smell of herbs reaches his nose next, and he coughs in surprise at the aroma. 

“Ah, you’re awake.” Joohyun comments. “Good.”

“I let go.” Seungmin rasps. His throat feels raw, but it’s nothing compared to how the rest of his body feels. His muscles burn and his skin feels like it's on fire, and not in a good way. The bruising on his back is mind-numbingly painful, and he tries to shift to alleviate some of the pain, but it only makes it worse.

“I know.” Joohyun says. She squeezes excess liquid out of a washcloth and gently presses it to his temple, the warm water soaking into his skin.

“Did we win?” He asks, closing his eyes again. “Did I get them out?” 

The long pause that follows is suffocating. Seungmin swallows the lump in his throat as the woman finally says, “I am not the one to ask, my king.”

Joohyun pulls the cloth away from his forehead as the tent flap opens, allowing warm light to spill through. It hurts Seungmin’s eyes even though they’re closed, his aching head worsening until the light fades again. 

“How is he?” Changbin’s voice reaches his ears. Joy is the first thing he feels, upon hearing his voice. Concern is the next thing when he remembers their last conversation — at least, their last conversation on the ship. 

“Awake.” Joohyun replies, and her presence disappears from Seungmin’s side.

“He is?” Changbin asks, confused. Seungmin blinks his eyes open to meet the man’s gaze, and his expression shifts into something else. “Oh, he is.”

“Yeah, I am.” Seungmin croaks. He tries to reach out for Changbin, simply just wanting to feel his touch right now, but it’s like his body refuses to move.

Changbin hurries to his side, sitting in the chair next to the cot and brushing his hair off his forehead. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Seungmin whispers. He smiles at Changbin, as best he can, despite the tears in his eyes. “You lied to me.”

“I’m sorry.” Changbin almost  _ whimpers,  _ looking so much smaller than Seungmin had ever seen him.

“How long?” Seungmin asks. “How long has it not been working?” He sees no reason to beat around the bush.

Changbin hesitates, eyes searching Seungmin’s, and then he looks down at his side where the dog had wounded him. “Since the castle, a couple days before we had to run. It’s like something was blocking me - and the… the dog didn't help.”

“What? Why- Why didn’t you-” Seungmin can hear his voice rising despite the pain in his throat. He’s taken back to his nightmare where Changbin had been corrupted and blamed it on him. “Changbin!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just—” He pauses, breathing in through his nose to calm himself down. “I just didn't want to worry you.”

“How did you even manage to hide this from me?” Seungmin whispers, concern and anger and disbelief rising up like bile in his throat.

“It wasn’t easy.” Changbin forces a chuckle, but it sounds more like a choked sob. “You just- you had more important things to—”

“Stop that.” Seungmin interrupts him. He forces his arm up, gripping Changbin’s wrist. The movement is agonizing, but it’s nothing compared to the shattering of his heart at the thought that Changbin thinks he isn’t important. “Nothing is more important than you, okay? I can't believe you’d even  _ think  _ that.”

Changbin squeezes his eyes shut, his head hanging between his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” Seungmin huffs out a small laugh despite himself. “We’re a  _ team,  _ Changbin. Total transparency, right? You  _ promised.  _ Twice _. _ ”

“Okay.” Changbin just nods, as a tear rolls down his cheek. Seungmin would wipe it away, but his arm is starting to ache too much. 

“How can we fix it?” Seungmin asks, letting his arm fall to his side again.

“I… I think you already did.” Changbin answers hesitantly, holding a hand up and Seungmin can feel the hum of the man’s magic as it goes from dormant to active. “When you returned everyone’s souls to them and the Tower… disappeared. It’s just… it’s like it’s blocked still. I can feel it again, unlike before, but I can’t get it to actually do anything.”

“The Tower…” Seungmin frowns. For some reason, he can still feel the dark magic. “What happened?” 

“Well,” Changbin bites his bottom lip for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “Your eyes started glowing, it’s like you weren’t even… you, anymore. You looked at me at one point, but it’s like you didn't recognize me. It was scary.” He explains. “And then you started talking in a different language, the… the native language of this world actually, but it’s like there were multiple voices speaking through you, and then you blacked out. You’ve been asleep for a couple days now.”

“Oh.” Seungmin breathes. “But I was… I was  _ in  _ the Tower.”

“That was a uh… a projection, of sorts. Physical bodies can't actually enter the Tower.” Changbin explains as his hand brushes Seungmin’s hair back.

“I can still… feel it — the Tower.” Seungmin mumbles, squeezing his eyes shut. “It’s like I’m still connected to it.”

“It’s been destroyed, it’s gone.” Changbin confirms, though he sounds confused. “After the first couple bombs hit it, it just… dissolved.”

“It’s not destroyed, Changbin.” Seungmin groans. Changbin makes a confused sound in the back of his throat. “I was so stupid to think that something like the Tower could actually be destroyed. It’s probably just weakened after I released everyone.”

“All except the King.”

“Shit!” Seungmin hisses, his eyes flying open. Panic rises in his chest. “The plan failed - he’s still - he can still tap into the Tower. Changbin, I  _ failed.”  _

“Whoa, hey-”

“No, no, no—” Seungmin whimpers, trying to force himself up. A searing pain shoots through his body when he tries, and he screams, falling back against the pillows. His body starts burning again, leaving him writhing in agony. A hand presses against his forehead, followed by someone muttering something in a different language, and then he’s blacking out again.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The next couple times he’s just coherent enough to have a vague idea of what's going on around him, he sees different faces each time. The first time is Hyunjin and Jeongin, and then it's Changbin again, and then Minho, and then no one.

When he actually wakes up again, he's alone. The tent is dark, telling Seungmin it’s nighttime. The air is cold and stale, no longer alive with the smell of herbs. For a moment, he wonders if they were attacked while he was out, but he doesn't sense any sort of danger. Relieved, he focuses on himself next, testing his motor skills. He wiggles his fingers, feeling nothing but an underlying numbness, but otherwise no pain. He wiggles his toes next, and then his feet, and then bends his knees. 

With a slow exhale, he pushes himself up into a sitting position, rolling his neck a couple times before grabbing the shirt folded at the end of the bed and tugging it on. When he stands, he stumbles a little, but manages to stay somewhat upright, and then he limps towards the tent flaps, poking his head out to scan his surroundings.

The torches are still lit, the flames flickering in the soft breeze. He can hear the faint sounds of laughter and singing deeper into the encampment, though it doesn't sound as sinister as the Tower. It’s inviting, even, and he finds himself stumbling towards it. He passes by people as he makes his way along the path, greeting them with a smile and a nod.

He reaches the source of noise, which turns out to be his friends and other people of all the different races taking refuge here gathered around a big fire. Some danced to the music while others roasted meat over the flames. Some sat on the sidelines, chatting amongst themselves. Seungmin, despite  _ everything  _ that’s happened, feels a warmth bloom in his chest, pleasantly spreading through his body.

“There he is!” Jisung’s voice cuts through the noise, cheerful and loud. Seungmin finds him on the other side of the fire, watching a smile breakout on his flushed face. There’s a pint in his hand. “Our King!” 

Hongjoong’s crew is sitting with them, cups clutched in their grasps. Seungmin's eyes are drawn to San and Yeosang, met with  _ brown  _ eyes, instead of the ice-blue eyes of Tower victims. Their scars still remain, but that seems to be the last confirmation that whatever he did, he really did succeed. 

Someone jumps on him from the side and it only takes him a second to recognize Ryujin. She hugs him tightly, and he laughs a little as he hugs her back. 

“You look like crap.” She says with a giggle.

He just rolls his eyes and gently pushes her off, which just spurs her to laugh harder before he turns to face the rest of the crowd. He waves a little, and the silence breaks.

The men and women around the fire bow and cheer, applause spreads through the crowd, but it’s not chilling this time. Seungmin feels tears prick at his eyes as he limps through the crowd, touching the hands of his people as he makes his way to his friends. Hyunjin and Jeongin are the first to hug him, their hands running through his hair and their arms wrapped firmly around him. He laughs, holding them tightly as the tears spill over.

“We’re so proud of you.” Hyunjin whispers to him, his own tears wetting Seungmin’s neck.

“We're not out of the woods yet, Hyun.” Seungmin murmurs, squeezing his friend’s arm.

“Can we just have tonight?” Hyunjin asks. 

Seungmin exhales, hiding his face in Hyunjin’s chest. “How long have I been out?”

“About a week and a half.” Jeongin answers after sharing a look with Hyunjin.

Seungmin curses under his breath. Their adventure to the Tower really took a lot out of him. He lets Hyunjin and Jeongin guide him to an empty spot at the table, helping him settle onto it so he’s not exerting himself too much.

And then he remembers moments before the Tower, on the ship, when Changbin kissed him.

“Where’s Changbin?” Seungmin asks the others when he notices that his friend is nowhere to be seen. He has to talk to him. 

Minho and Jisung share a glance, but Felix is the one to answer, leaning down from their spot sat on the table. “He snuck off a while ago, towards the waterfalls.”

“I think he needs some time to himself.” Jisung adds. “He’s spent the last week and a half practically glued to your side. I think it was starting to get to him.”

“None of us were… sure if you were going to wake up again.” Chan seems a little hesitant to say that, a concerned frown on his face.

“You mean I was comatose?” Seungmin looks between them. “I remember waking up before. Changbin and I… we talked. And I remember seeing you guys visiting me. I– was I really…?”

“It was scary.” Jeongin whispers. Seungmin watches Hyunjin sit next to Jeongin and draw him into his side, and Jeongin curls into him. So that was new. Curiously, he glances at Felix and Jisung, but neither of them seem bothered. As a matter of fact, they’re sitting close together, eyes watching the crowd. How much had he missed while he was out?

“Well, I’m awake now.” Seungmin tries to joke, but it falls flat. With a frown, he tries to stand up again, but everything starts to sway and he ends up falling back onto the bench with a groan.

“Just… relax, Minnie.” Hyunjin squeezes his shoulder, holding onto his hand to keep him seated. “Take it easy.”

“But Changbin…” Seungmin whispers, leaning over to rest his head on Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“Give him some time, okay?” Minho says. “He’s been dealing with his own stuff since you guys got back. He’ll come to you when he’s ready.”

“Speaking of which,” Hyunjin interjects. “What happened at the Tower? Changbin told us some of it but… Minho says some stuff happened  _ inside. _ ”

“Do you…” Seungmin trails his gaze over to the blue-eyed man, who just nods, already knowing what Seungmin wants to ask. “Shit…”

“What?” Jeongin pipes up, curiously looking between them.

“Well…” Seungmin breathes, pushing himself up so he can explain everything that happened, at least, as much as he can remember. A few others around them tuned in as Seungmin got sucked into the story himself, overdramatizing some parts as a way of lightening the mood with an interesting story. 

“. . . And that’s how I broke out of the illusion and saved the day.” He finishes with a smile, scanning the faces of those around him. Minho just looks amused, knowing a lot of the story was terribly over exaggerated, but everyone else is staring at Seungmin in awe.

“You’re awesome-”

“That sounded intense-!”

“You’re a hero, My King-”

Praises and other such things bombard him from all sides, the people gathering around to request more stories. Seungmin doesn't have much to provide them, so he tells them tales from books from his own world. Hyunjin and Jeongin help him out, acting out the stories as Seungmin narrates. They’re all laughing and cheering and there’s even some people tearing up and sniffling at the more emotional parts, but overall, it feels  _ good  _ to just have fun for a night, considering everything going on outside the cave. 

The king can wait. Tonight, all Seungmin cares about is spending time with his people and his friends.

  
  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Minho,” Seungmin finds him by the waterfalls a day later, sitting in the pool of water gathered at the base in nothing but his trousers and bandages wrapped around his chest. The man looked up at the sound of his name, blue eyes glinting in the sunlight. 

Seungmin sticks his hands in his pockets as he looks down at the ground. “Can we talk about something?”

With a silent nod, Minho stands and wades out of the water. He sits on the shells and gravel next to Seungmin, picking at the skin around his nails. 

They’re silent as Seungmin tries to figure out how to ask, how to start. He inhales, opens his mouth, but Minho beats him to it. “Miyeon and Chunghee were my best friends,” he begins. “I tutored them, trained them, helped them. I never expected the turn in Chunghee’s alliance.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Seungmin asks. “That would’ve saved us so much trouble.”

“Miyeon… she made me promise before she died. Made me promise not to tell their reincarnations should it come to that. Said she didn’t want you influenced by their failures.” Minho answers. He sounds heavy. “I am nothing if not a man of my word.”

“Lives are on the line, Minho.” Seungmin hisses. He rears on the man, who meets his gaze levelly. “Changbin has almost  _ died.  _ I don’t care about a promise you made. You risked so much, and for what?”

Minho is silent as he stares at Seungmin. He looks like he’s searching for something, until finally he gives up and stares at the water instead. He peels a hangnail off his finger. “Is it stupid if I say love? Because that's what it was. I loved them both - in different ways, mind you - but… I would’ve done anything for them.”

“You know that can’t happen this time, right? I have to stop Chunghee, at whatever cost.” Seungmin says, even though the words leave a bad taste in his mouth. He knows that, in the end, he’ll have to kill Chunghee. He just… doesn’t like it.

“Trust me,” Minho scoffs. “I know. Just…” He trails off, staring at the top of the grotto, before falling back on the shells. “I just hope he rests well in his death.”

Seungmin hums and lays back as well, staring up at the rock ceiling. He misses the stars more than anything right now. “Love is hard.” He whispers.

“Yeah,” Minho nods. “It is. But it’s also so beautiful. Fight for your love, okay?”

Seungmin looks over at him. With a question on his lips, he opens his mouth, only for Minho to interrupt again. “I love Chan. I love him properly, and he loves me back.” He murmurs, and Seungmin can see a hint of a smile on his face. “I got it right this time. Let’s just hope I don’t fuck it up again.”

Silently, Seungmin grabs Minho’s hand. It’s cold, but it doesn’t bother him. Instead, he just scoots closer to his friend, hoping to somehow transfer some of his own heat. He can feel Minho relax next to him, and he smiles.

“Thank you.” Minho whispers. 

Seungmin squeezes his hand.

  
  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin watches Changbin from the waterfalls as he and Jisung spar, kicking up dirt and grass around them. They’re both dripping in sweat, and Seungmin can see it even from where he sits. 

He and Changbin still haven’t… talked about the kiss, and Changbin’s seemed a little more than closed off since Seungmin woke up. It’s not that he’s avoiding Seungmin persay, it's more like avoiding the elephant in the room. 

It’s only been two days since Seungmin woke up, but he’s beginning to get frustrated with Changbin. The only time he really lets it slide is at night, when it's just the two of them in their tent and there’s no one else to look in on them. They don't talk like they did in the castle, and Changbin doesn’t hold him like he used to, but he still holds onto his hand as if it's his only lifeline. The only reassurance that they will talk, when he’s ready.

Seungmin just hopes it's soon. The seconds are counting down to the fight with Chunghee, afterall. As soon as he’s healed enough, there won’t be any more time to talk, especially because they have no idea if they’ll even make it out alive.

He  _ really  _ hopes they’ll talk soon.

He hears the gravel shift next him and glances over his shoulder to see Hyunjin coming to a stop behind him. His friend smiles, waves slightly, and tilts his head. “Where’s your other half?”

“Training.” Seungmin points to Changbin and Jisung, who are taking a water break at the moment. Seungmin quickly looks away when he sees Jisung look in his direction.

“Why aren’t you training with them?” Hyunjin asks, leaning back on his hands. 

“Changbin won’t let me.” Seungmin answers with a huff. “Not until I heal a little more.” And then he chuckles, almost bitterly, but even then there’s a fond smile on his face. “Overprotective as always.”

Hyunjin hums as Seungmin digs a stick into the sand enough until it stands on its own before trying to set it on fire to no avail. His magic hasn’t quite recovered yet and he’s starting to get impatient with it. They can’t do anything until he heals, and he refuses to do anything until things are back to normal between him and Changbin, but Changbin has completely shut him out, so he hasn’t even been able to telepathically reach him, to talk, to… figure things out. 

“He kissed me.” Seungmin says, finally. “Right before I entered the Tower. He kissed me, and said “in case we don’t make it back”, and now he’s acting like it never happened.” 

Hyunjin places a hand on his knee. Seungmin glances at him before rolling his eyes at the sympathetic frown on his friend’s face. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Hyunjin doesn’t answer, but he pulls him into a hug. Seungmin relaxes into his friend’s arms and hugs him back, soaking up the comfort. 

“I’m sorry.” Hyunjin murmurs, threading his fingers in Seungmin’s hair. Seungmin just holds him tighter.

“What about you and Jeongin?” Seungmin asks in a desperate attempt to change the subject. Hyunjin shifts to rest his head on his shoulder.

“We’re uh… hm.” Hyunjin huffs, as if trying to figure out how to answer. He tosses a piece of gravel into the water. “I’m not sure, to be honest. Jisung has been spending a lot more time with Felix, and Jeongin comes to my tent most nights, but we just… sleep.”

Changbin and Jisung are just sitting in the dirt now. Jisung is showing Changbin something with his magic while he talks to him, but they’re too far away for Seungmin to hear anything - especially over the roar of the waterfall. 

“So what about you and Jisung?” Seungmin looks at Hyunjin.

“He told me there’s nothing there for us. He had feelings and I didn’t.” Hyunjin tosses another piece of gravel into the water. “He told me I need to talk to Jeongin before I ruin that too. He’s annoyingly perceptive.”

Seungmin huffs out a laugh, running a harsh hand through his hair. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

Hyunjin grabs his hand, holding it close to his chest so he can feel his heartbeat. That’s something he’s always done since they were kids, as a way to reassure one or both of them when things were always… hard. Seungmin appreciates it more than Hyunjin will ever truly know, even if his friend hasn’t done it in a long time. It’s nice to have a sense of familiarity right now, with everything going on. 

He still remembers the first time Hyunjin did it, after his mother passed, three months before he fell through the painting for the first time. That was the first time he’d really allowed himself to feel the grief, allowed himself to cry for his mother. He misses her so much.

Seungmin finally notices Changbin approaching them. He sits up a little straighter, eyes wide. He can feel Changbin’s nervousness, which catches him off guard. He hasn’t been able to feel anything from his friend since he woke up.

Changbin stops a couple steps away, shifting from foot to foot, and then he holds his hand out to Seungmin. “Can we talk?”

“Just don’t kill him.” Hyunjin whispers as Seungmin stands and brushes himself off.

Changbin leads Seungmin towards one of the smaller and unoccupied waterfalls. Seungmin can feel the anxiety rolling off of him in waves now. He almost feels bad for being so upset in the first place, but he’s also glad that Changbin is finally letting him in again. 

“Are you in the mood for a swim?” Changbin asks, finally, when they reach the waterfall. He stares at the water as it washes up to his shoes.

Seungmin wants to grab his shoulder and make him talk about the kiss but instead he shrugs, coming to a stop a couple of feet away from Changbin. “Sure, I guess.”

They undress and wade into the water together. Changbin rests a hand on the small of Seungmin’s back, grabbing his shoulder to guide him back until he’s floating. It’s as if nothing had changed, as if there’s no tension between them. 

Seungmin stares up as Changbin runs a thumb over his cheek and runs the water through his hair. The gesture is so tender that Seungmin feels the stress leave his body almost immediately. He really missed feeling Changbin’s touch like this. 

“How are you recovering?” Changbin asks.

Seungmin hums. “Slowly.”

Seconds pass, silence broken only by the waterfall behind them. And then, “I’m sorry for pretending the kiss didn’t happen.” Changbin whispers.

“Why did you?” Seungmin stares up at him. 

Changbin sighs, a frown on his face. He trails a finger along his eyelids, causing Seungmin to close his eyes. Silence hangs over them for what feels like eternity before Changbin finally pulls his hands away, allowing Seungmin to see again. “I was scared of finally admitting to myself that I l- that I… that you feel like  _ home  _ to me. I was scared, because of our  _ stupid  _ destiny, because of Chunghee and Miyeon, because I’m afraid of losing you, because I’m afraid of what might happen to you if you lose me. I needed to really ask myself if it was worth it, to… to risk that, just to be able to be with you.”

“And?” Seungmin whispers, a blossom of hope growing in his chest.

A smile fights at Changbin’s lips as he says, “And what?” so innocently, as if he doesn't know exactly what Seungmin means.

“And is it worth it?” Seungmin asks as he shifts around to face Changbin properly, cupping his jaw with his hand.

Changbin melts under his touch, and the smile finally wins as his soft eyes meet Seungmin’s. “The future will always be uncertain. We could die tomorrow, we could die the next day. There are so many what ifs and maybes and dangers.” He begins as he reaches up to trail his finger along Seungmin’s face, tracing all the lines. He wonders if Changbin can feel it on his own skin. “If we spend too much time worrying about the future, we won’t be able to enjoy the present.”

Seungmin smiles just slightly, and that small blossom of hope in his chest begins to grow. He rests his other hand on Changbin's shoulder, just wanting to feel all of him right now.

“I don’t want to miss out on us, just because I’m worrying too much about the what ifs. You are the most important person to me, Kim Seungmin. I would give up my life for you, I would move mountains for you. I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe and healthy.” Changbun confesses, and then he rests a hand on Seungmin’s waist to pull him closer. “Anything is worth the risk with you.” He murmurs.

“You’re so ridiculous, you know that?” Seungmin whispers, leaning into Changbin’s warmth, into the smell of woodsmoke and pine. 

Changbin chuckles breathlessly as he reaches up to grasp Seungmin’s wrist. “Yeah, maybe a little bit.”

“You’re worth more than all the stars in the sky.” Seungmin breathes, running his thumb across the apple of Changbin’s cheek. He smears a drop of water. “I’ll tell you everyday if I have to.”

Changbin leans back, searching Seungmin’s face as if it holds all the answers. Then he nods, and his shoulders relax, and he smiles that smile that Seungmin loves oh so much. “Just us, together for eternity, right?”

Unexpectedly, tears burn at Seungmin’s eyes. He laughs a little and nods. “Yeah, for eternity.” He confirms, and then, with a teary chuckle, “Are you gonna kiss me?”

Changbin wastes no time and closes the space between them. They immediately fit together perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle, and Seungmin suddenly feels sparks run down his spine as Changbin’s magic flows through him even more than usual. The electricity is pleasant as it tickles his nerves and makes his fingertips twitch where they rest on Changbin’s cheeks.

Seungmin decides then, that he’s truly tasted stars on Changbin’s tongue. Warm, tantalizing, electric. He can’t wait to keep tasting him forever.

“You taste like stars.” Changbin whispers against his lips, and Seungmin kisses him deeper, with more urgency. Changbin laughs a bit, his arms wrapping securely around Seungmin’s waist, lifting him up and floating them towards the waterfalls.

Seungmin drags his hands through Changbin’s damp hair, breaking away long enough to murmur, “So do you.” before Changbin is pulling him back in.

Just as the kiss deepens, their bodies molding together until they can’t even tell where one ends and the other begins, they reach the waterfall. The force of the water makes it hard to keep any sort of rhythm and they end up breaking apart, but it’s okay, Seungmin decides, as he hugs Changbin tightly. They’ll be okay, just like always.

They have eternity and more.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin wakes to fingers trailing across his spine, featherlight, yet still enough to spark pleasant electricity wherever they touch. He smiles, rubbing his cheek against Changbin’s pectoral muscle as he hums appreciatively for how squishy it is.

“You’re like one big pillow.” Is the first thing out of his mouth. Changbin laughs, the sound vibrating through Seungmin’s face. 

“Is that so?” Changbin questions, amused. 

“Mmhm.” 

“Mm, good to know.” Changbin teases. He shifts slightly to press a kiss to the crown of Seungmin’s head before trailing his fingers down to massage his back lightly.

“Is your magic still blocked?” Seungmin asks, tracing gentle patterns into Changbin's chest.

Changbin doesn't answer right away, but Seungmin can feel his magic vibrating. He watches as Changbin lifts his hand, focusing, but nothing comes from it. With a frown, his hand drops onto the bed. “Yeah, it is.”

Seungmin just grumbles a little and rolls over onto his back, sitting up and stretching his arms up over his head with a loud whine followed by a yawn. 

He smacks his lips and looks down at Changbin to see him already looking, a frown on his face. Seungmin sighs and leans down, pressing a soft kiss to Changbin’s lips. “We’ll figure it out together.”

“I believe you.” Changbin nods and pats Seungmin’s back as the latter swings his legs over the edge of the bed. He stands up and walks over to the chest, kneeling in front of it to retrieve two pairs of clean clothes. He tosses one to Changbin before he dresses into his own. 

“What’s our course of action for today?” Changbin asks as he dresses himself and grabs his sword belt, fastening it around his waist. The gold embellishments on the sheath glitter prettily in the candlelight.

“Where'd you get your sword?” Seungmin asks instead of answering Changbin’s question.

“Minho had it made for me,” Changbin grabs the hilt of the weapon and draws it, weighing it a little in his hand. “and then he made me carry it for the same reason I told you we were training - magic is limited, even for us. I guess it just became a habit to have it with me.” He explains with a shrug, and then jokingly points it towards Seungmin. “Besides, I look cool, don’t I?”

Seungmin stares at the point of the blade, and then at Changbin, before snorting and shaking his head. “Sure, whatever you say, Bin.” 

Changbin giggles and sheathes the sword so he can pull his boots on and fix his hair before walking over to the tent entrance. He holds his hand out for Seungmin and he doesn’t even hesitate to join him. They walk out together, squinting a little in the late morning light as they make their way to the war tent.

“So, to repeat my earlier question,” Changbin breaks the silence, squeezing Seungmin’s hand to grab his attention. “What’s our course of action today?”

“Well…” Seungmin sighs, looking down at the dirt path. “We need to figure out how to best handle this situation, now that we know the Tower is still technically standing, which means Chunghee still technically has access to it.”

“Huh.” Changbin hums.

“What?” 

“Well, it’s just-” Changbin pauses, glancing at Seungmin. “That’s the first time you’ve used his name instead of calling him ‘king’.”

“Oh.” Seungmin breathes, his eyebrows raising a little. “I guess… no, I know.” He stops and Changbin stops as well, looking back at him curiously. “He’s no king of ours. As far as I’m concerned, he doesn't deserve that title. A king doesn't strike fear into the hearts of his people and harms them in the streets if they can't pay tax and he doesn't abuse power given to him and he doesn't-” He hesitates, searching Changbin’s face. “He doesn't neglect his family.” 

Changbin stares back at him, his mouth slightly agape, and then he smiles proudly. “See? Spoken like a  _ true  _ king.”

And for once, Seungmin doesn't hate it. He isn’t  _ fond  _ of it yet, but he’s starting to accept it. He smiles as he starts walking again. “Yeah, maybe.”

Changbin doesn't say anything else, but Seungmin can tell he’s smiling even more. 

They fall quiet again as they make their way to the war tent. As they grow closer, they hear yelling. With a shared glance, they run the rest of the way.

“Why didn’t you just  _ tell  _ him, Minho?!” Chan’s voice is the first one Seungmin can make out over the sounds of Jisung and Hyunjin trying to break up the argument. 

“I thought he could do it!” Minho spits back, pure rage laced into every word. “He’s the fucking chosen one, for the gods’ sake! If anyone could do it, it’s him!”

“And yet, here we are!” Chan screams back. “You’re still fucking trapped there and we’ve taken ten steps backwards instead of forwards!”

“Hey!” Seungmin barks, sliding to a stop in the clearing. Everyone stops immediately, Seungmin receiving surprised looks from Hyunjin and Jisung and guilty looks from Chan and Minho.

“Chan started it.” Jisung blurts, pointing an accusing finger at Chan like a child tattling on their older brother.

The older man shoots him a glare, but when he turns to face Seungmin and Changbin, he just deflates. “He’s right. I did.”

“What do you mean, Minho’s still trapped there? Trapped where?” Seungmin asks, trailing his gaze over to the blue-eyed man.

In hindsight, Seungmin should’ve realized sooner, now that he thinks about it. 

Minho sighs, gesturing to his eyes. “They’d be back to normal if my soul was returned, but I had to refuse my soul’s freedom to stay behind in the Tower to keep that illusion from trapping  _ your  _ soul there, too.”

“Wait, you mean-” Seungmin’s eyes widen as he looks between Changbin and Minho. “Are both of you still stuck there?!”

“No, no, no!” Minho hurries to explain, waving his hands a little in the air. “The Changbin you saw was merely an illusion created by the Towe. That’s how it… that’s how it takes the souls. It shows you an image of the person you love most, tricking you to “stay” with them, showing you a reality that’s just… too good to be true, yet it taps into your innermost desires. When you agree to stay, you feel this… agonizing pain as the soul is separated from the body, and any good fortune promised is ripped away and you’re trapped. The energy of the soul is what’s used to power it.” 

Seungmin’s eyes widen in surprise, reaching a hand up to grip his shirt over his chest. He could still feel the phantom pain he experienced in the Tower, and his back still aches since the bruises were still healing. Had the Tower tried to separate his soul from him?

“Changbin - he was able to break free of the trance like you did, except he was a little late to the draw and just barely escaped with most of his soul intact. Whatever got stuck there before has returned to him, but… me, well.” Minho huffs out a bitter laugh and guilt settles in Seungmin’s stomach.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispers, and that dreaded feeling of,  _ “I can’t save anyone”,  _ returns tenfold. 

“You’re doing everything you can, Seungmin. I don’t blame you.” Minho sighs, and it really does sound like it. He sounds sincere, but Seungmin just couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

“It’s not enough.” He mutters under his breath, only loud enough for Changbin to hear. The man squeezes his hand but Seungmin shakes his head, slipping his hand out of his lover’s grasp. He clenches his fists at his sides, inhaling slowly and counting to ten before exhaling. He avoids the gazes of everyone as he moves to enter the war tent—

Everything shakes violently and sends everyone stumbling. bits of dust and rock sprinkle down from the top of the cave as the rumbling fades. Seungmin glances back at Changbin, and that’s all it takes for Changbin to understand.

“We need to get out of here!” Minho gasps, grabbing onto Chan as another tremor vibrates through the cave. 

“The people-” Seungmin shakes his head. He looks around, watching families scramble towards the tunnels that lead out of the grotto, leaving them separated as they desperately escaped.

“If we go with them, it’ll put them in danger.” Chan says, grabbing Seungmin’s shoulder to get his attention. Then, he looks at Jisung. “Go find Felix and Jeongin. We need to get out of here. Meet us at the Aurora.” 

Jisung nods and then he’s gone, disappearing into the terrified crowd. Changbin grabs Seungmin’s hand and leads him after the others, dodging falling rocks and screaming people. Seungmin stops to help a child to her feet, handing her to her mother before ushering them out of the way just as a rock fell towards them.

“Seungmin!” Changbin screams, hand extended.

Seungmin hesitates, watching his people flee, and then he turns back to his lover. “I have to help them!”

Changbin takes his face in his hands, desperation clear in his expression, and in the way it rolls off of him. “I want to help them too, but we have to go. We’re no use to them if we’re dead.”

With one more glance at the crowd around him, Seungmin finally nods as he meets Changbin’s eyes again. “Okay.”

They make it to the Aurora and the crew helps them on board. Hongjoong looks stressed as he instructs Chan and Minho to help tighten the ropes and Changbin to help raise the sails. Hyunjin and Seungmin hurry to the back of the ship, eyes scanning the encampment for their friends.

“There!” Hyunjin gasps, grabbing Seungmin’s hand and pointing at the three shapes rushing towards the ship. Jisung is flinging flaming cards at falling rocks, the little pieces of paper slicing through them and making them explode so they don’t end up crushed.

Seungmin and Hyunjin hurry back to the main deck as Felix lifts the others up with vines, all of them tumbling onto the ship. As soon as they’re on, the ship lifts and takes off down the river tunnel, the masts barely fitting in between the rock walls. 

“What’s happening?!” Jeongin exclaims as Hyunjin helps him to his feet.

“Chunghee.” Seungmin answers.

“Where to now?” Hyunjin asks, scanning the ship. Minho and Chan are conversing quietly, faces hardened. Changbin is talking to Hongjoong, both of them looking equally stressed. Felix is whispering to himself, the blue glow of his skin seeming brighter than usual. 

“For now,” Seungmin frowns, looking down at his hands. “We need to find somewhere safe.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


‘Somewhere safe’ turns into the Aurora suspended above a forest valley deep in the mountains. Felix asked the trees to shield them from the ground, and that resulted in branches and vines crawling up the bottom of the ship.

Seungmin’s pain had worsened as they flew through the air, the stress of leaving his people behind and losing their only safe place from Chunghee making his body ache and his head pound. His magic was still struggling to come back entirely, so any chance of healing himself at the moment was out the window. He was feeling frustrated all over again.

“Hey,” Changbin’s voice catches his attention. He looks up from the ship bannister at his lover, and immediately feels a sense of calm overtake him. Changbin hands him a cup with steaming liquid in it. “Drink up. You need your energy.”

“Thanks,” He murmurs and takes a sip of the drink. The taste is sweet, and feels pleasant as it travels down his throat. 

Changbin wraps an arm around his waist as he stands next to him, leaning against the bannister. “How are you feeling?”

Seungmin sighs, looking into the drink. “My body hurts.” He says. “And I’m worried about our people. And I’m stressed because of Chunghee.”

Changbin sets his drink down and reaches up to brush Seungmin’s hair back, his fingers trailing down the side of his face and finally cupping his jaw, guiding Seungmin to look at him. He searches his eyes, and then he smiles softly, pulling him into a soft kiss. “We’re gonna figure this out. Just like always.” He reassures, and then the hand on Seungmin's waist rubs his back gently. “Can you heal yourself?”

“My magic isn’t working very well right now.” Seungmin sighs. He holds his hand up, managing a small flame, the size of a candle. “The Tower took a lot out of me.”

Changbin hums and leans forward, pressing another kiss to his lips, and then his neck, and then he grabs his hand and tugs on it gently. “Come on. Let’s get some rest. We’ll decide what to do in the morning.”

Seungmin lets his lover lead him down to the sleeping quarters and they manage to fit into one of the hammocks. They lay on their sides, facing each other, hands clasped together in the space between them to provide light. Seungmin can hear Jisung snoring above them and Hyunjin and Jeongin whispering elsewhere, but all he’s really focused on is Changbin.

“What if we just run away? Off to some other world far away from here?” Seungmin whispers, tracing small patterns on the back of Changbin’s hand. “Just… have a little farm and grow old together.”

Changbin breathes a small chuckle, closing the space between them to kiss Seungmin softly. “Maybe someday.” He says, promise in his tone. “But we wouldn’t truly be safe if we do it now.”

Seungmin sighs and nods, pressing his forehead against Changbin’s, soaking in the comfort he provides. “I know,” He murmurs, and then he shifts to curl into his lover’s chest. 

“Sleep, Seungmin.” Changbin wraps an arm around his waist, drawing him closer. “Sleep, and dream of the stars.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin wakes up to footsteps above his head. With a groan, he reaches up and rubs over his face, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He pushes himself up on his elbows and scans his surroundings, only then noticing he’s alone, so he slides out of the hammock and stumbles sleepily upstairs. 

“Morning, Seungmin!” Jisung calls, waving as soon as he sees Seungmin. He’s sitting on the deck with Chan and Changbin, a map laid out in front of them. There’s a purple glow to the map, and Seungmin realizes that Jisung is using his magic to make it 3D, like a hologram almost. Minho stands behind Chan, finger on his chin and eyes narrowed at the map. 

Seungmin scans the ship, spotting Yeosang and Yunho chatting off to the side and Hyunjin and Jeongin talking with Jongho and Wooyoung. He’s glad they’re getting along, he decides, and finally walks over to the map. Changbin moves over to make room as Seungmin kneels down, scanning the hologram.

“We’re trying to figure out the best course of action.” Jisung explains, gesturing to the differently colored lines in the map, highlighting various paths around and to the castle. “Minho says our best bet at this point is to get you into the castle and close to the king while he’s still weak from the attack on the Tower.”

“Changbin,” Seungmin calls his lover’s name softly. Changbin hums questioningly. “What do you think?”

“It’s your fight, Seungmin.” Changbin shakes his head, reaching over to rub Seungmin’s shoulder. “Whatever you decide, I’ll be right there with you.”

“He’ll be waiting for me.” Seungmin murmurs, eyes on the hologram of the castle. “In the ballroom. That’s where he'll be.”

Minho and Jisung share a confused look. “How do you know?” Jisung asks, locking eyes with Seungmin.

“I’ve dreamt it.” Seungmin says. The images are burnt into his mind. The king, eyes red and blazing, with a sinister grin on his face. Seungmin’s side burning, blood oozing down his side. It’s always like he’s experiencing a memory, watching from the sidelines, watching himself stumble towards the king, sword shaking in his hand. 

They plan to sneak in through the tunnels under the castle, which will take them to the damp basement halls. Minho and Jisung will clear the way while Hyunjin and Jeongin provide distractions above. Chan will stay behind, ready to provide support with the pirates if needed. Changbin and Seungmin will make a break for the ballroom, and Seungmin will fight the king, alone.

Changbin is not happy.

They’re alone, down in the brig, so Seungmin can try and get in touch with his magic again. It’s not working very well, and eventually he gives up. He just has to hope it will be in working condition for his fight with Chunghee.

“Why do you have to do it alone?” Changbin asks. He’s pacing up and down the small room, hands grasping his sleeves tightly.

“Your magic isn’t working.” Seungmin mutters. “And…”

“And?”

“And I think that you and Chunghee can’t harm each other.” He looks up at Changbin, meeting his eyes. 

“How do you know?”

“It’s the same reason I know that he’ll be in the ballroom. It’s the same reason that his energy is as strong as ours. It’s the same reason you feel a connection to him.” Seungmin says. He presses his hands flat against the wood of the table, watching smoke rise from under his skin. “You know the answer.”

How did things get so complicated, so fast? How did he go from being a student to… this? 

Right now, he kind of wishes this is all some horrible nightmare he’s going to wake up from. But at the same time, he doesn’t want that to be the truth. Despite everything, deep down he knows he wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not when it gave him an actual purpose. Not when it gave him Changbin.

Changbin is quiet for a long time. Slowly, he sits in front of Seungmin, his fingers tracing along the backs of Seungmin’s hands. He looks conflicted. Finally, he sighs, running a hand through his hair. “So, what does that mean?”

“Well,” Seungmin chews on his bottom lip. “I think it means that we were never supposed to ki- to-” He can’t say it. He shuts his eyes tightly, and his body relaxes when Changbin’s fingers weave with his own. “It’s him and I.”

“Well, that’s good, right?”

Seungmin nods. But then he feels tears prick at his eyes. “Changbin?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared.”

Changbin crawls across the table and settles in Seungmin’s lap, wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. A muffled sob rips through Seungmin as he wraps his arms around Changbin’s waist and buries his face in his shoulder.

“I know, Seungminnie.” Changbin whispers, combing his fingers through his hair. “Me too. Stay alive, for me.”

“Always for you.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


The tunnels under the castle are warmer than Seungmin’s used to. He trails his fingers along the warm rockface, dirt collecting on his skin, smoke billowing in the marks he leaves behind. His magic was slowly coming back, bit by bit, building up in his veins.

Hongjoong had lent him a sword since he accidentally left his own behind in the grotto. On the way to the castle, Changbin had tried to joke that this should teach him to keep it on him, but it was hard to keep the mood light with such a grim cloud hanging over them.

A droplet of water falls on his skin. It bubbles and turns to steam. Is his skin really that hot?

“Are you okay?” Changbin’s voice echoes in the tunnel.

“No,” Seungmin shrugs. “But I have to be.”

Changbin’s hand slips into his, grip tight but comforting, unbothered by Seungmin’s heat. That brings a sliver of comfort to Seungmin. At least his magic wasn’t out of control.

Eventually, they emerge in a room with a natural bath carved into the ground, steam hanging thick around them. Jisung waves his hand, watching it thin out slowly. Seungmin stares into the water, at his reflection rippling across the surface. Just like months ago, back in his dorm, it's as if his skin is glowing. 

“Just let Jisung and I handle the fighting, okay?” Minho says as they climb the steps to the next floor up. “Save your energy for Chunghee.”

“Okay,” Seungmin nods. 

The halls are empty, not a guard in sight. It puts Seungmin on edge. He can feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise, as if someone is watching him. He swears he sees movement in the shadows around them. 

When they reach the ballroom, Minho stops them. Changbin looks concerned, his eyes scanning the corridor, Jisung's deck of cards is in his hand, glowing purple. Seungmin feels alert. Something is off.

He turns, and he sees the shadows. They create a wall between the small group and the rest of the corridor, caging them in. They don’t move or attack, but their swords are drawn, a silent threat. There’s no turning back now.

Which means Chunghee knows they’re here.

“Go, Seungmin.” Minho says. 

Seungmin hesitates. He looks at Changbin, and his lover looks back at him, expression as adoring as always. Tears well in Seungmin’s eyes as he cups Changbin's face, pulling him into a kiss. He just wants to hold on a little longer, just one more second—

_ A goodbye,  _ He thinks. Because that’s what it feels like. The kiss is wet, full of their tears, heavy with unspoken words.

Changbin exhales shakily against his lips, and finally breaks away. “Go.” 

When Seungmin was fifteen, he and Hyunjin talked about falling in love. Hyunjin wanted the cliché movie romance, he wanted to dance in the rain and have moonlit picnics and ride in the passenger seat of his lover’s car with the windows down and the speakers blasting.

Seungmin had never really entertained the idea of his ideal romance, and had decided he would let it happen when it happened.

The idea that he’s going to lose it so soon after finally finding it - finally finding  _ Changbin,  _ terrifies him. 

He doesn’t want to let go. 

But he does anyway. He looks at Minho and Jisung, both providing supportive smiles. Changbin squeezes his hands, pulling them away from his face, and they hold onto each other until the length of their arms no longer allows. Seungmin feels a bit of himself chip away when they finally separate.

He turns to the ballroom doors, hands clenched at his sides, and pushes his way inside.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter is also up ! make sure to go right ahead and read it next -->
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


	8. first day of the rest of our lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> suggestion: listen to nature boy by aurora while reading this chapter. i felt it really fit this au seungmin ? 
> 
> ALSO !!!! this chapter opens with a fight scene so here's your warning for lots of blood, violence, and temporary death. don't worry though! happy endings only!
> 
> (also i have very little knowledge on combat so pls ignore any and all inaccuracies ahaha)

* * *

_Do you remember who you were before they told you who to be?_

  
  
  
  


_“Seungmin!”_

_A melodic voice caught the little boy’s attention. He waves goodbye to the little turtle he had been following across his yard for the past twenty minutes. “Bye bye, Mr. Turt.” He whispers before running back to the patio of his home._

_A beautiful woman is hunched over the little glass coffee table, setting two cups of freshly made lemonade on the surface as she hums a gentle tune. Seungmin feels at peace._

_“Thank you, mama.” He says politely as he takes one of the cups and takes a sip, sitting on the outside couch._

_“You’re welcome,” His mother smiles and runs her fingers through his hair. “My little starsweeper.” She murmurs._

_Seungmin looks up at her with wide, doe eyes, still sipping on his lemonade. The sunlight makes his mother look so much more beautiful than usual, and he can’t help a smile. “Love you, mama.”_

_A chuckle escapes his mother’s lips as she sits next to him on the couch with her own lemonade. “I love you too, my dear.” She responds._

_The wind blows. The windchimes ring._

_“Oh, how special you are.” She adds, grabbing his little hand and holding it as if it were the most delicate thing in the world._

_“How special am I, mama?” Seungmin gasps softly, looking up at his mother in curiosity._

_“More special than all the stars in the sky.” She coos, tapping the tip of his nose. “You are going to do amazing things, starsweeper, and I’m always going to be proud of you. Never forget that, okay?”_

_“Mm,” Seungmin giggles, scrunching up his nose. “Okay, Mama. I promise.”_

  
  
  
  
  


“Would you be proud of me now, Mama?” Seungmin whispers into the still air. He turns in a circle, scanning the room. The chandeliers are lit, candle lights flickering, dancing across the walls and floor. Seungmin frowns, disappointed that this room would be destroyed.

Chunghee glares at him from the other end of the room. He’s in light armor, leather protecting all his major arteries and vulnerable parts. Seungmin meets his gaze, fists tightening at his sides. He can feel the heat pouring off of them in waves.

“Would you like to dance?” Chunghee asks. The corner of his lip twitches.

“No thank you,” Seungmin says, lowering himself like Changbin had taught him. He draws his sword, the hilt sizzling under his touch. “I don’t waltz.”

The room is silent, suffocatingly slow, as they debate on who gets the first strike. 

The king moves first. Seungmin can feel the ground vibrating under his feet as he readies his sword, braces his body, and deflects Chunghee’s strike the second the sword swings through the air at him. The force of the king’s broadsword against his own is enough to make his arms tremble, but he doesn’t give in.

Seungmin meets Chunghee’s glare over their swords. The man snarls and jumps back, wasting no time in swinging at Seungmin again. Seungmin dodges easily, rolling to his side and stepping out of range of Chunghee’s sword. He shoots out a ball of fire towards the king, only for him to dodge it just as it passes over his head. It explodes in the ceiling, sending debris flying to the polished floor.

Well, at least his magic is back to full capacity.

“You’ll have to be faster than that.” Chunghee sneers, turning his attention back to Seungmin. With a roll of his eyes, Seungmin pushes himself up and charges Chunghee, this time with a scream that echoes around them. 

The king is faster. though, and rolls out of the way, kicking his leg out to trip Seungmin. He goes rolling across the hardwood, skidding to a stop a few feet away and releasing a groan. The grating sound of the king scoring his blade through the floor snaps him into action again and he scrambles to his feet, just managing to step out of the way as the king runs at him. He swings his sword, just barely slicing Chunghee's arm as the man flies past him. It was enough, it seems, from the scream of pain that leaves the king.

“You incompetent little prick.” Chunghee growls, charging Seungmin and swinging his sword through the air. His accuracy is deadly, Seungmin learns, as he just barely dodges the blade. He feels it knick his ear and feels the air shifting in its wake, and he knows that if he had been a second late on that, the blade would be lodged deep in his skull and the fight would be over. 

He reaches up to dab at the knick on his ear, hissing slightly in pain, but he has no time to heal it before the king’s sword is swinging down at him again. He barely reacts in time, able to get his sword up to deflect the swing, the rival sword inches from his face.

His body is already feeling the wear and tear, the stress on his muscles and energy not used to such extraneous fighting. His arms shake violently as he struggles to hold back Chunghee’s sword, and when he meets the man’s eyes, he can tell that he’s not the only one who knows it.

“You’re putting up such a fight for what?” The king drawls, forcing his blade closer to Seungmin’s face. 

“For my friends.” Seungmin growls, pushing off of Chunghee’s sword as a surge of adrenaline passes through him and he pushes the king back just enough to give himself leverage to get out of the way and catch his breath.

“You think you can win, but have you forgotten that your little stunt with the Tower didn’t work?” Chunghee sighs. He weighs the sword in his hand, a small smirk on his face suddenly. An unsettling feeling gathers in the pit of Seungmin’s stomach.

“You can’t draw any power from it.” Seungmin shakes his head. “It took away your privilege.”

“Oh, is that what Minho told you?” Chunghee scoffs, his head snapping up to meet Seungmin’s eyes as Seungmin faces him again. “Sure, that was then.” He shrugs, and then his hand shoots out. Shadow-y tendrils fly through the air around him and latch onto Seungmin’s arms. They drag him down until he's on his knees, and Chunghee approaches him, using the tip of his sword to lift Seungmin’s chin up. “This is now.”

Seungmin struggles against the tendrils, but to no avail. As the sword lifts, glaring down at him threateningly, he thinks this is it. 

And then his magic grows stronger, and he can feel the heat rolling off of him in waves. No, this isn’t the end. He focuses, fists clenched tight, and fire explodes from his body, breaking his bonds and freeing him. He throws a ball of fire at Chunghee, but the king deflects it, separating the flames as they fizzle out.

“You’re annoying.” Chunghee growls. 

“And you are too,” Seungmin scoffs. He just throws fireball after fireball at the king, pushing him back until he’s against the ballroom doors. “So let’s do each other a favor and get this over with, shall we?”

He throws a particularly big ball of fire at the king, thinking that this is finally over, but the fire blows the doors open as the king ducks out of the way.

Seungmin is shocked, confused, staring at the shattered remains of the double doors. He looks up and meets Changbin’s eyes through the dust in the air. His lover looks angry, blood crusted on his cheeks as he raises his sword, ready to charge. Bits of armor litter the ground around him and the other two. Seungmin shakes his head, silently telling him to stay out of it. Changbin only hesitates a moment, watching Seungmin in confusion.

He completely forgot about the king. 

Time slows as a dagger sinks into Changbin's side. Minho jumps forward, barely catching Changbin before he sinks completely. Minho meets Seungmin’s eyes, panicked, and he’s saying something. Seungmin can’t hear him over the blood rushing in his ears. Can’t focus on anything except the blood soaking through Changbin’s shirt and staining Jisung’s hands.

“Changbin!” Seungmin screams, finally, and takes a step forward, trying to reach his lover. To heal him. To save him.

“ _Weak_ .” Chunghee’s voice cuts through the settling silence as sharply as his sword slices through Seungmin’s right shoulder. Seungmin cries out, pain exploding in his shoulder as a _crack_ sounds and he feels the hot blood run down his back and stain his shirt. His knees give out, barely managing to catch his weight on his sword. 

“And now, I’m going to kill you slowly.” The king snarls, walking around Seungmin to grab his face, forcing him to look him in the eye.

“I wouldn't be so sure of that.” Seungmin snarls under his breath, voice ragged. He can feel his skin heat up, the magic making the bleeding wound in his shoulder scream, but all Seungmin focuses on is the smell of burning skin and Chunghee screeching in pain, retracting his hand.

“You’re funny, Kim Seungmin.” The king says, thinly veiled anger dripping from his voice. He shakes his hand out and grips his sword almost gingerly, and Seungmin makes a mental note to take advantage of that.

“Glad I can provide some entertainment.” Seungmin mutters as he pushes himself up shakily. Thankfully Chunghee didn’t injure his sword arm, as he doesn’t think he has the time to properly heal his bleeding shoulder, not enough to use it at least. “Maybe you’ll get one more laugh in before I kill you.”

Chunghee grins, cocking his head to the side. “I have a question, Chosen one.” He begins, gesturing to Seungmin with his sword as he gestures to himself with his hand. “Do you know who I am?” 

“A man who killed his love for power? A man who has terrorized the people for decades? An arrogant, overzealous tyrant who doesn’t deserve the crown he wears?” Seungmin asks, his tone mocking. “What are you even trying to do? What's your big plan?”

The king’s nose twitches, very clearly forcing himself to remain calm. “Come on. You’re smart. You mean to tell me you haven’t figured it out?” He says instead, ignoring Seungmin’s question.

“Unfortunately, no.” Seungmin rolls his eyes. “It’s not like you left your plans lying around.”

“Well, you did read my journal.” The king says, almost nonchalantly.

Seungmin falters at that, his eyes widening in shock. _How—_

“I found it in the bedroom after your idiot of a lover blew your cover and you two fled.” Chunghee sneers. “And your notebook. You never got the chance to translate all of it though.”

He knows that doesn’t matter at this point. He and Changbin already know the truth. Still, he hates how easily the king is picking him apart like that. He grits his teeth, eyes narrowed at the man. “Just tell me what you’re trying to do, why you’re draining the magic, why you’re- you’re doing all of this.”

“Impatient, are we?” The king drawls cockily. “Got a date after this?”

Seungmin knows what the man is doing. He’s trying to get under Seungmin’s skin, anger _him_ so he’s sloppy while fighting. And he hates that it’s working. Slowly, he breathes in and counts to ten before exhaling, letting any annoyance building up to leave his body. He needs a clear mind for this.

“What are you trying to do?!” He asks more forcefully this time. He needs to know.

“Right now, I’m trying to kill you.” Chunghee snarls, his eyes narrowed. “My plans won’t succeed with a nuisance like you in my way.”

“What. Plans.” Seungmin takes a step forward, barely moving, his grip on his sword tightening. The blade glows softly. 

Chunghee doesn’t answer. He just lowers himself slightly, grip on his sword shifting as well. Seungmin glares at him challengingly, but when the man makes it clear he’s not going to provide an answer, Seungmin just sighs.

_Fine, so no answers._ He thinks _._

And then he charges.

As he dodges a swing and goes directly for the offense, he remembers the story of the starsweeper, the little boy who changed the moon with a mere broom. He always admired the boy, always thought it was amazing that someone so young could do something so big. Take control of something so powerful like that. He remembers how excited he’d been when his mother started calling him starsweeper, promising that he would do things so much greater. 

He believed her then, and as he clashes swords with the tyrant, he finds himself believing her again.

He and the king fall into something of a rhythm. Seungmin lunges, swings, and sometimes he’s lucky enough to catch Chunghee through his armor. It never seems to bother him much, the man recovering rather quickly, and swinging with twice as much strength as Seungmin leaps out of the way. 

The longer they dance around each other, the more worn out Seungmin feels, his muscles burning and his bones aching. His fingers itch to let his magic loose, let it swallow the king up and leave him a smoking heap of ash and soot, but Seungmin has to be careful. He needs to wait until the king is tiring out, until he stumbles, until he shows sign of wear and tear and—

The king trips, his breaths becoming ragged, and his next swing is slow and sloppy. 

_Now._

“I think that’s enough warm up.” Seungmin mutters to himself, leaping away from the king. He summons up the deepest, most internal pieces of himself, of his magic, letting the energy burn through his veins. 

He drops his sword and extends his hands towards the King, letting a blast of unyielding, blue fire escape his grasp. The second it’s released into the air, it’s no longer Seungmin’s to control. No longer the comforting warm animals he would create to entertain or the warm light he would use to light the candles in his and Changbin’s shared tent. This is feral, wild, deep magic, just what the book had promised, attacking Chunghee like it has a mind of its own. There’s no way the king can survive this, no way—

The fire dies down, and Chunghee is _still fucking standing,_ shit-eating grin and all, and Seungmin has no time to react to the small dagger flying through the air that lodges itself in his side. 

Time seems to slow as he gasps, stumbling, and falls backwards. The sounds around him become muted when his head hits the ground painfully, causing his ears to ring and his shoulder to throb. He’s only vaguely aware of someone calling his name but he can’t focus on it, not fully, even though he thinks he hears himself rasping Changbin’s name, desperate to reach his lover. 

A sickening _thunk_ follows the cries, and any trace of his lover’s magic thrumming through Seungmin’s veins is cut short, leaving him feeling unexpectedly _empty._

Tears run down his cheek as his hearing comes back, as do the rest of his senses. He scrambles into a sitting position, hunching over the stained wood as he clenches his side where the dagger is. _I can’t feel him. I can’t feel anything._ He thinks, panicked, watching the hot tears hit the floor below him, steam rising from them, melting away from the residual heat radiating off his body. 

With a gasp, he crawls over to the hauntingly too-still body laying only a couple of feet away from him, hands scrambling to lift Changbin’s head into his lap. Minho and Jisung are nowhere to be seen, but he doesn’t even think about finding them. 

“Changbin-” He whimpers, shakily brushing his lover’s hair off his forehead. His chest is too still, his face too slack, his skin too cold, his side too bloody. A sob rips through him at the painful realization that it’s the same side the dog had injured him on before. 

He holds a shaky hand over the wound, trying to muster up any residual energy left over, but he depleted most of it in the blast of fire he threw at the king. That doesn’t stop him from trying to spark anything left over, trying to heal Changbin, trying to bring him back. Pain shoots up his arm when he forces it too far and he lets out a muted cry, dropping his arm to his side. 

There’s still so much he wanted to do with Changbin. Still so much he wanted to see.

He tries to pinpoint the exact moment his general admiration for Changbin shifted into something more. He can’t, though, but he thinks back to the night at the lake, when they laid in the moonlight and promised eternity to each other. He realizes that’s the night his feelings became more. It’s a shame it took so long for him to realize.

Eternity had seemed like such a long time then. If only he knew just how quick it actually was, passing in the blink of an eye.

He’d give anything for just one more moment. One more second, with Changbin’s skin warm with life and eyes sparkling with mirth. 

“Binnie, wake up, please. Wake up.” He whispers shakily as he runs his thumb across the apple of Changbin’s cheek, smearing a drop of blood. “Please don’t leave yet. We still need to have another picnic, and I- and I want to meet the queen. You still - still have to meet my dad. And what about our farm?” His voice cracks on the last word. He doesn’t care though. “I wanted to touch the stars together.” 

He hears laughter somewhere behind him, hears a sword slicing through wood, hears heavy footsteps coming towards him. He doesn’t care though, he just holds onto Changbin’s lifeless body, holds him like he’ll wake up and hug him back. He knows he won’t. 

“Pathetic.” Chunghee says. “Love is your downfall.”

Cold metal touches his chin, the blade sizzling ever so slightly where it touches his skin, forcing his head up. His vision swims as meets the king’s eyes, blazing red in the fire surrounding them. _Seungmin’s fire._

_A red-eyed king, sword raised, ready to kill._

Chunghee points the sword at Seungmin’s face, his eyes glinting blue, and Seungmin realizes it’s Changbin’s sword. An image crosses his mind, of Changbin jokingly pointing the sword at him just yesterday. Ironic.

_You did look cool, Binnie._ Seungmin thinks as tears burn his eyes. 

“How fitting,” Chunghee begins, the tip of the sword digging into the skin of Seungmin’s neck. He can feel a trickle of blood ooze into the collar of his shirt. “That you are to die alone, on your lover’s blade.”

Seungmin is suddenly reminded of weeks ago, sitting in the castle garden with Changbin. He remembers admitting that he felt alone, weighed down by the responsibility on his shoulders. He can remember Changbin’s words so clearly. _“You’re not alone, okay? You have all our friends, and you have me. You’re always gonna have me.”_

And then he remembers standing on the roof with Hyunjin and Jeongin, as if on top of the world. He remembers training with Changbin, he remembers their secret rendezvous’ to the woods and the lake and the beach. He remembers his people, he remembers his friends. 

They gave him hope. They gave him strength.

“No,” He whispers. “Love is my strength.”

A surge of energy rushes through Seungmin’s body. Ever so gently, he leans down and presses a lingering kiss to Changbin’s forehead, a hushed confession of love whispered under his breath before carefully shifting his body out of his lap. 

He grabs the blade staring him down, the metal immediately melting under his touch, which clearly shocks the king because Changbin’s skin is completely untouched, no trace of heat hot enough to _melt._ he stands (making a mental note to get the sword replaced since it was made special for Changbin) and the king watches in ever-growing shock as Seungmin wipes a little blood from the corner of his mouth, eyes blazing as their gazes meet.

“No, _your majesty,”_ he sneers mockingly as he backs the king into the middle of the ballroom. “ _You’re_ going to die alone.”

“You-You wouldn’t-” Chunghee stutters, eyes giving away the first traces of fear that Seungmin has seen tonight. “You’re the _hero._ You won’t kill me.”

Seungmin can feel the heat coming off of him now, and he smirks. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

The floor around him starts to rumble, and the energy rips through his body. His side, where the dagger is still lodged deep inside him, burns with excruciating pain but he barely acknowledges it. His shoulder is painfully numb, his arm feeling weak, but it’s okay. He doesn’t need it.

The energy tearing through him feels similar to what happened at the Tower, and his last coherent thought is how much the damage toll on his body is going to _suck_ if he survives _._ He blacks out, his ears ringing, the sound of a woman’s laughter being the last thing he hears.

  
  
  
  
  


He’s by the ocean again when he blinks his eyes open. The sea sprays against his face, showering him in tiny droplets and soaking his hair. He releases a content sigh as he sits himself on the sand.

A hand runs through his hair, comforting, familiar, safe. It reminds him of home. He looks up to see his mother smiling down at him.

“Hello, my little starsweeper.” Her voice is as soft as always.

“Hi, mama.” Seungmin smiles.

His mother sits next to him, dark hair whipping around her face in the breeze. They sit like that for a while, basking in the smell of the ocean and the setting sun warming their skin. Finally, his mother grasps his hand to get his attention. “I am so proud of you, my dear. You’ve done so well.”

“Thank you, mama.”

She guides his head to look at her. “If you are ready to rest now, it’s okay to let go. I’ll be waiting.”

Seungmin ponders the question. He’s felt exhausted lately, everything weighing down on him. He sighs, looking out at the water, watching the waves kiss the sand.

Then he looks to his left. A small group of people sit further down the beach, mutedly singing and laughing around a fire. Whereas the air around Seungmin feels cold, despite the sun’s rays, the other people are warm. A creeping realization makes its way to the forefront of Seungmin’s mind, and his suspicion is confirmed when he locks eyes with Minho _,_ and that's when he starts to recognize the others.

Changbin is prodding the fire, keeping it alive with ease. Hyunjin and Jeongin are curled together on the sand, heads touching and faces scrunched happily. Chan holds Minho’s hand in his lap, his eyes fixed intently on Jisung as the boy very dramatically tells — what Seungmin assumes, considering he can’t actually _hear_ his friends — a story with the help of Felix. Warmth spreads through his chest at the sight of them, and he realizes his fight isn’t over yet. Not as long as his friends — his _family,_ is counting on him.

“I think I’m gonna keep going, mama.” Seungmin says, finally, and then he has the attention of all his friends, as if they’d heard him. Minho and Changbin are wearing matching, proud smiles. “Wait for me just a little longer, okay?” He adds as he looks back at his mother.

She smiles then, and pulls him into a hug. Seungmin inhales deeply, the smell of flowers mixing with the smell of the sea.

“I love you so much.” He whispers into her hair.

“I love you too, my starsweeper.” Her voice is almost lost to the waves, but Seungmin hears it clear as day.

  
  
  
  
  
  


_“Wake up!”_

He wakes with a gasp, and then groans when pain shoots through his body. Sparks and soot fly past overhead and the smell of fire and blood fill his senses, greatly contrasting the rapidly fading smell of flowers and sea salt. A face comes into his line of vision, and he barely makes out Hyunjin’s features as his friend cups his cheeks.

“He’s awake!” He screams, and then quieter, he adds, “thank god.”

Seungmin manages a dry chuckle, his throat screaming in pain. Jeongin, Jisung, and Minho appear then, matching looks of relief, shock and concern on their faces. Seungmin smiles at them as they kneel down to brush his hair back, hold his hand, touch his cheeks, as though making sure he’s actually real. He opens his mouth to say something, but then he remembers–

“Changbin-!” He rasps, trying to force himself into a sitting position.

Hyunjin forces him back down, a reassuring smile on his face as another face comes into view. Seungmin blinks a couple times, scanning the new face, and then he recognizes Changbin through the ash and blood caked on his face.

“Fuck,” Seungmin breathes, letting his head thump back against the ground. “You’re filthy, Bin. You need a shower.”

Changbin lets out an ugly snort, his head hanging between his shoulders as he just lets the laugh run its course. Seungmin grins, managing to reach up and pat his lover’s cheek. “You’re ridiculous.” Changbin huffs, meeting Seungmin’s eyes again.

“I couldn’t-” Seungmin’s smile falters as he searches Changbin’s eyes. The familiar humming is there, as if it never disappeared in the first place, as though letting Seungmin know that everything's okay. “I couldn’t feel you.”

Hyunjin and Changbin share a glance before Hyunjin pushes himself up and hurries off to the left with the others.

“I think I did die for a moment.” Changbin admits quietly, averting his gaze. “I’m not sure, though. It’s all a blur, really. It’s like… one second, Chunghee’s sword was staring down at me, and the next, there’s a giant hole in the ballroom and you and Chunghee are in the garden and Chunghee is… well.” His gaze drifts to the left. Seungmin follows his gaze and can barely make out the smoking heap, what he assumes is whatever’s left of Chunghee.

_Huh._

“I guess I did that?” He asks.

“Mhm. Minho told me your eyes glowed and everything.” Changbin explains. “Just like the Tower.”

“I melted your sword.” Seungmin mutters. Changbin just shrugs, clearly not caring much. Seungmin opens his mouth to say something more, but then there’s an aching pain in his side. “He- the dagger.” Seungmin groans, sitting up just enough to look at the giant blood stain on his shirt.

“I think your fire cauterized the wound, but…” Changbin frowns, lifting up Seungmin’s shirt to reveal the blood-crusted, scabbed over-wound in his side. 

Seungmin frowns, running a hand across the skin gently. It feels numb, and then he realizes that his shoulder is also _achingly_ numb, and remembers when Chunghee struck his shoulder. He would heal both wounds, but something tells him his magic isn’t going to work that well. 

He looks at Changbin, reaching up to rest a hand on his cheek. “What about your magic?”

Changbin searches his face, and then lifts his hand to show the shadows weaving around his arm. “Came back when I did.”

Seungmin lets out a sigh of relief and presses his forehead to Changbin’s for a moment before lifting his head to take in his surroundings, watching as his friends check on each other. There’s bits of debris from the hole in the side of the castle littered around them, having crushed the flowers. Seungmin feels a pang of disappointment. He’ll have to fix that. 

“We won.” He murmurs, dragging his gaze back to Chunghee’s body.

“Yes we did.” Changbin confirms. Seungmin looks at him with the brightest smile, and pulls him down into a kiss. Changbin squeaks in surprise, but he smiles into the kiss, his hand coming up to cup Seungmin’s cheek. “Congratulations, my King.” He whispers against Seungmin’s lips.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


_The bells are loud_ , Seungmin thinks to himself as he paces through the garden. The new flower buds he and the queen had planted were growing beautifully, dancing slowly in the gentle breeze. Seungmin kneels next to a patch of fresh sprouts, gently running his finger along the smooth leaves. They quiver excitedly under his touch.

It’s been a month since the battle with Chunghee. The ballroom was still under renovations, and the mountain range outside the grotto was still recovering from the abuse it received from the attack. Seungmin had found bodies left behind, families who hadn’t been fast enough to outrun the evil. Changbin and Minho were quick to put their souls to rest, and they were given proper burials. Thankfully, most of the refugees had survived.

In the time that had passed, Seungmin had searched Chunghee’s bedroom, his study, and anywhere else he might've kept documents since he found the journal and his translations burnt to a pile of ash. He only put together bits and pieces of what the man’s plans had been, something about taking over Issinet and then finding a way to combine all the worlds in the paintings. He wasn’t sure _why_ , but he assumed it had something to do with his insane, bloodthirsty drive for power. 

Or maybe it had something to do with Miyeon, but Seungmin isn’t even sure if Chunghee regretted what happened to her.

With a groan, he rolls his shoulder as an ache runs through it. He had never fully healed it, and was never given the chance. It healed weirdly on its own, especially after he found out the force of Chunghee’s strike was enough to fracture his shoulder blade. His magic was still having a hard time recovering, near non-existent at this point. Anytime he tried to conjure it up, excruciating pain would shoot through his body and he ended up with nosebleeds.

So he busied himself with other things. He still wasn’t _legally_ the king, instead having taken it upon himself to relocate the refugees and settle the warriors back in their homes, as well as clear out anyone who might have been loyal to Chunghee. Queen Eunji took up any royal and legal duties in the meantime, though she was more than ready to relinquish the throne to Seungmin as soon as he’s ready.

(When Changbin had finally, properly introduced Seungmin to the Queen, she was _overjoyed._

“He may not be my son by blood, but I still care for him as if he were.” She had said, pride laced in her tone and a soft smile on her face. “And if you make him happy, then that is enough for me.”

Seungmin and Changbin had exchanged happy smiles, faces still bruised and bodies still sore from the battle. Eunji’s own smile grew as she leaned in, lowering her voice to add. “Besides, you helped get rid of my tyrant of a husband, and for that, I will forever be grateful.”

Seungmin had bowed lower than ever then, accepting her gratitude humbly. Both the queen and Changbin had chuckled fondly.)

Changbin had left soon after the battle, off on a diplomatic mission with Chan and Jisung to settle trade routes that Chunghee had turned down during his rule. Hyunjin and Jeongin were working with Felix to heal the forests, and Minho was… well, Seungmin isn’t entirely sure. He just knows he woke up late one night to see Minho sneaking out the garden doors with a satchel, and hasn’t returned since.

The past month in the castle has been a lonely one.

Today, though, Changbin is scheduled to return, and Seungmin is to be crowned king, _finally_. 

He’s sick with anxiety.

“Your maj—Seungmin,” A voice catches his attention to the left. He turns, eyebrows raised in question when he sees Ryujin. “Hi, I just came to tell you that Changbin and the others have returned. They’re in the dining room.”

Joy replaces the anxiety churning in Seungmin’s stomach. Still, he manages to contain his excitement as he gives Ryujin a polite smile, bowing just slightly. “Thanks, Ryu. I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Of course.” The woman smiles as well, bowing low, before turning on her heel and rushing out of the garden.

Seungmin exhales, turning back to the flower sprouts. The bells have stopped, and the garden has fallen silent again, save for the sounds of wildlife. Midsummer was approaching fast, comfortable heats replaced with searing heats, but it didn't bother Seungmin.

“My boyfriend is home.” Seungmin whispers to the plants. They all nod as if agreeing. 

He chuckles and stands up, leaving the garden and making his way down the familiar corridors to the dining room, trailing his fingers along the walls. After Chunghee’s death, the queen made it her duty to remodel most of the palace, trading the dark blue walls and haunting tapestries for soft blues and paintings of calm scenery. Seungmin was growing to appreciate the castle more, no longer uncomfortable in the cold corridors. 

The doors to the dining room open as he reaches them, revealing the people inside. Chan sat in a chair near the middle of the long table, one leg up on the armrest and his head lolled to the side. Jisung sat on the table, flinging cards around and making them disappear with a wave of his hand. Seungmin smiled sadly. He misses his own magic.

“There you are.” Changbin’s voice rings out, and Seungmin looks towards the head of the table. Changbin sat in the big chair, a grin on his face as he meets Seungmin’s eyes.

“Hey, stranger.” Seungmin chuckles, walking around the table to meet Changbin halfway, accepting the tight hug his lover pulls him into. “Long time, no see.”

“Mm, way too long.” Changbin murmurs, pulling back to tug Seungmin down into a kiss. Seungmin returns it gratefully, appreciating how the two of them fit together easily, just like always.

A card flies between them, startling them apart. Seungmin’s head whips around, meeting Jisung’s mischievous grin with a glare. “Get a room if you’re gonna be gross like that.”

“And when was the last time _you_ kissed someone?” Seungmin counters, narrowing his eyes slightly. Jisung opens his mouth indignantly, and then he promptly clamps it shut, averting his gaze with a scowl. 

Seungmin sighs and shakes his head as he looks back at Changbin. “How was your mission?”

“A success.” Changbin answers proudly, pulling away to grab a satchel from the table. He tosses it to Seungmin before seating himself next to Jisung. “All the documents of proof that we now have successful trade routes with the kingdoms of the south, the east, and the west.”

“You’re amazing.” Seungmin murmurs, opening the satchel to look through the papers.

“Don’t give me all the credit, Chan did most of the talking.” Changbin jabs a thumb over his shoulder at the now-brunette, who’s been silent up until now.

Chan snorts, leaning forward on the table. “Would’ve been easier if we had Minho with us.” He comments, and then meets Seungmin’s eyes. “Is he here?”

Seungmin hesitates. He looks towards Changbin first, and that’s all it takes for his lover to know. Jisung scoots to the edge of the table, leaning towards Seungmin expectantly as Seungmin sighs. “I don’t know where he went. He snuck out shortly after you three left, and hasn’t returned. Didn’t leave a note or anything.”

The room falls silent for too long. Seungmin scans over the other three, a little scared of their reaction. Jisung just has a sad but thoughtful frown on his face, Changbin looks as if he expected that, and Chan’s jaw is set and his brow is furrowed. He looks the least pleased of all three of them.

“Well,” Chan finally sighs, standing up. The chair scrapes against the floor with a god-awful sound. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Seungmin frowns, tossing the satchel onto the table as Chan stalks out of the dining room. Seungmin glances between Jisung and Changbin, and Jisung hops off the table, muttering something about going after Chan. After the dining room doors shut behind both of them, Changbin lets out a defeated sigh.

“You and I both know where he is.” Changbin says.

“The Tower.” Seungmin nods. “Have you heard it?”

Changbin makes a confused sound. “Heard it?” 

“It calls to me most nights.” Seungmin whispers, holding one of his hands up. 

Changbin slides off the table and approaches Seungmin, gently folding his hand and holding it up to his mouth to press kisses to his knuckles. “What does it say?”

“I can’t make out most of it.” Seungmin shakes his head, watching Changbin massage his arm. “I can just… I can feel it more than anything.”

Changbin looks up at him, sliding their fingers together. His eyes flit over his face for a moment, before a hand comes up to rest tenderly on his cheek, and then he’s leaning in for a kiss. Seungmin returns it easily, his free hand coming up to cup the back of Changbin’s neck. Changbin breaks the kiss a second later, simply pressing their foreheads together. “I think we both need a well-deserved vacation.”

“Let's get a crown on my head first.” Seungmin snorts, pressing a couple more kisses to Changbin’s lips before pulling away. “My coronation is soon, and the queen will not be pleased if I’m late to my own event.”

Changbin laughs fondly, pressing a kiss to the back of Seungmin’s hand before dropping it completely. “We’ll catch up more later. I’ve actually got some more news for you, but for now I’ll go change for the coronation.”

“Dress nice.” Seungmin says teasingly, ruffling Changbin’s hair before finally letting his lover go. He watches him wander off, the dining room doors closing behind him with a soft click.

Another thing that’s changed is his and Changbin’s hands don’t glow as brightly since his magic stopped working. 

He misses it.

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


Seungmin always loves sunsets in Issinet. He loves the bright red glow that the sun cast over the land, the fiery sky mixing with the indigo blanket that follows it. He likes watching the sky trade its clouds for stars, and picking out the constellations he’s come to know and adore as time went on.

He sits on the roof of the castle, crown hanging off one knee propped up and weight rested back on his hands. The breeze is peaceful, cool against his skin. He exhales, a smile on his face as he leans his head back, eyes closed.

His coronation was hours ago, complete with all the grandeur he still believes he’s undeserving of. His friends had all been there, and he was surrounded on all sides with hugs and congratulations. Changbin had just watched from the side for most of it until it was just the two of them left alone in the throne room. 

_“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,”_ Changbin had told him as he approached, reaching up to adjust the crown atop his head. _“You needn’t worry about shouldering all of this responsibility on your own though. It’s no different from before.”_

Seungmin is always and forever grateful for Changbin. 

“There you are, King Seungmin.” A familiar voice cuts through the silence. Changbin settles next to him, picking up the crown off his knee. “How do I look?”

Seungmin opens his eyes, looking over to see Changbin wearing the crown. It looks good on him. It _suits_ him. “You know it’s considered a crime to wear the crown.”

“Are you gonna tattle?” Changbin pouts, but makes no move to remove the crown. 

Seungmin hums and smiles, shaking his head. They look out over the land again, watching the sky fade to black as a silence settles over them again. 

“How’s your magic faring?” Changbin asks after a while.

Seungmin sighs and holds his hand out, trying to muster up anything more than a couple sparks. When nothing comes, and his head starts ringing, he drops his hand into his lap. “Terribly.”

“Any idea what happened?” His lover sighs, reaching over to lace his fingers with Seungmin’s.

“I can’t even remember anything after you- after Chunghee almost won.” Seungmin murmurs, staring at their hands. He hates that the light isn’t as bright as it used to be.

Changbin looks at him, frowning, and then lifts his hand to press a kiss to his knuckles. “We’ll figure it out together.”

Seungmin leans his forehead against Changbin’s, breathing him in, before pressing a kiss to his lips and leaning back on his free hand. “I know.”

Silence settles over them again, Changbin setting their linked hands on his thigh as they watch the sun slowly disappear beyond the horizon.

“So,” Changbin clicks his tongue, breaking the silence. “I told you I had news.”

“You did.”

“The kingdom of the south has promised us part of their army, as a sort of thanks for saving… everything.” Changbin announces. He doesn’t sound thrilled.

“What’s the catch?” Seungmin frowns.

“The queen wants something in return.” Changbin sounds hesitant as he slowly takes the crown off his head, staring at it instead of Seungmin.

“Like what?”

“Like… half of our magical resources.” 

“Changbin-!” Seungmin exclaims, eyes widening. He doesn't even know how to _provide_ that.

Changbin waves his hands defensively. “I didn’t agree to the terms! I told her I had to talk to you, since you’re the king.”

“How do we even- what?! _How_ does that work?!” Seungmin stands, pacing a couple of steps back and forth. 

“There are magical mines, of sorts. Mages who collect it in enchanted jugs, boxes, you name it.” Changbin explains. “But the process is very damaging on the land it’s taken from. It would weaken us even more than we already are.”

“I decline her offer. Either we negotiate new terms or we just hope that we can train new soldiers without any trouble.” Seungmin says immediately. He was not going to risk his country for that. For another kingdom he’s never seen. For a queen he’s never met.

“I’ll send word in the morning, then.” Changbin nods and grabs his hand. “Now, sit back down.”

Seungmin sits. He stares out at the darkening sky, the stars beginning to appear. He wants to be a good king. He so desperately wants to be. He fears he may not know what he’s doing, but he’ll do his best regardless.

“We’ll be okay.” He whispers. “We’ll figure this out together.”

“Yes we will.” Changbin says, sounding more relieved. He sets the crown on Seungmin’s head before gently guiding him into a soft kiss. He only holds it for a second before pulling away. They lock eyes, matching smiles full of love on their faces. 

“I love you.” Seungmin whispers.

Changbin’s smile grows, practically radiating pure, innocent love. “I love you, too.”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  
  


Seungmin finds Hyunjin in the fields behind the castle. His friend has been running out here a lot over the past couple of weeks, but he never did anything except sit and stare at the horizon. Seungmin has wondered a couple of times, but he never had the chance to follow him until now.

“There’s his majesty.” Hyunjin says as he looks over his shoulder at Seungmin. “In all his royal glory.”

“And there’s my best friend, in all his… friendly glory.” Seungmin laughs as he carefully pulls his horse to a stop and slides off, gently rubbing her neck. Hyunjin chuckles softly and turns back around. Seungmin walks over to his best friend and sits next to him, staring out at the rolling fields. “What are we looking at?”

Hyunjin hums. He looks down, picking at the grass in front of him. “The future.”

“And what do you see?” Seungmin asks, looking at his friend. He looks so much older now, after everything that’s happened. He’s no longer the naive, bright-eyed kid from months ago. Granted, his light hasn’t dimmed any, he’s just… grown. Seungmin smiles.

“I’m not sure yet.” Hyunjin shrugs. He lifts his gaze to meet Seungmin’s. “What do you think our life would be like if we never went through that painting? If none of this happened?”

Seungmin looks out at the horizon thoughtfully. He’s never considered that, not really. He had been so focused on his goal to win that he didn’t even stop to think about what might've happened had he not been dragged into this. They’d probably still be attending classes as usual, Seungmin would probably still be a coward, and his friends might still be avoiding their feelings. He feels like life would still be incomplete. 

Besides, even if he wanted to go back, he wouldn’t belong there.

“You and Jeongin would still be dancing around each other.” He comments with a glance in Hyunjin’s direction. His friend turns a deep shade of red, staring pointedly at the shreds of grass in front of him. 

“We still haven’t made anything official.” Hyunjin murmurs. “We’re taking it slow.” He sighs and looks up. “I want to do it right with him. Especially after my weird… flirtationship with Jisung. I still feel guilty because I hurt both of them.”

“How?”

“Jisung fell, I didn’t. Jeongin had already fallen, and I was trying to distract myself from that.” Hyunjin frowns. “We were both cowards, weren’t we?”

“Hm,” Seungmin hums, laying back. His crown slips off into the grass. “We were. Not anymore, though.”

“Not anymore.” Hyunjin whispers, laying next to Seungmin. “I’m happy you have Changbin. He understands you better than Jeongin and I ever could.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Seungmin huffs, pouting.

“I didn’t mean it badly!” Hyunjin protests, waving his hands in the air. “I just meant he matches you very well. You’re made for each other.”

Seungmin snorts, looking up at the sky. “We literally are. Fate is a funny thing.”

“Yeah but… there’s just this way you are with him. It’s like you’re really able to be yourself.” Hyunjin says. He holds his hands up as a breeze passes. “He brings out the best in you, and you bring out the best in him.”

Seungmin smiles softly. Hyunjin isn’t wrong.

“So,” Hyunjin breaks the momentary silence. The pair look at each other. “What happens now?”

  
  
  


𖦹𖦹𖦹

  
  
  


“Are you sure you don’t want to come back with us, just for a little while?” Hyunjin asks.

A week ago, Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Jisung had made the choice to return to Earth for a while. Jeongin wanted to finish his degree, and Hyunjun and Jisung wanted to find any realm jumpers who may not be aware of their abilities, to help them figure themselves out. Chan was already off in other worlds with Jackson and Jaebeom since Minho still hadn’t returned.

They all spent the last week making plans accordingly and spending as much time together to last a lifetime. Before they knew it, their time was up, and here they stood at the farm. The frame hummed quietly behind Hyunjin, magic vibrating off of it. 

“I have to stay, Hyun.” Seungmin shakes his head, grasping his friend’s hands. “I wish I could come back, but I have a kingdom to rebuild.”

Hyunjin sighs and looks over at Jeongin and Felix, wrapped up in a tight hug. Seungmin smiles at the two of them. “You’re both always welcome back whenever you want, you know that.”

Hyunjin pulls him into a hug, tight enough to crush his ribs if he really wanted to. “I know.” He whispers as Seungmin returns the hug with just as much force. “I’m just gonna miss you.”

“We’ll always be a package deal.” Seungmin murmurs. “This doesn’t change that.”

A teary laugh escapes Hyunjin. The tall boy pulls away as Jeongin walks over, practically throwing himself at Seungmin, clinging tightly to him. Seungmin laughs and holds him tightly, pressing his face into his shoulder.

“Better keep practicing your archery while you’re there, Hyunjin,” Seungmin hears Changbin say. “Someday we’ll hold a festival and have archery as an event. I want to see you win.”

Jeongin and Seungmin pull apart and Seungmin pats his friend's cheek before letting him go. Jeongin joins Hyunjin, holding onto his hand. 

Jisung steps up to Seungmin, looking slightly awkward as he rubs the back of his neck. “I’ll keep them both safe.” He promises, averting his gaze for a moment before slowly meeting Seungmin’s eyes. “And don’t stress about your magic too much, it’ll come back in due time.”

Seungmin stares at him in surprise, and then he smiles and rests a hand on his shoulder. “I know. Thank you.” He nods. “Keep yourself safe too, okay?”

“I’ll try.” Jisung laughs softly, hesitates, and then pulls back. He glances over as Changbin steps up next to Seungmin. “Better keep an eye on this guy while I’m gone. Got that, king?”

“Are you trying to tell me what to do?” Seungmin retorts teasingly, crossing his arms. 

Jisung rolls his eyes, lightly punching his shoulder. “Oh, shut up.”

Changbin and Seungmin both laugh. Seungmin grabs Changbin’s hand, a soft smile on his face. “I promise, Jisung.”

“I’ll keep him safe in return.” Changbin adds. 

“You’re both so gross.” Jisung grumbles, but he smiles as well. With one last wave, he finally joins Hyunjin and Jeongin by the painting. The three of them spare one last look over their shoulders, and step through the frame, disappearing just like that.

Changbin squeezes Seungmin’s hand, drawing the tension out of him. “They’ll be okay.”

Seungmin sighs and nods, letting a silence fall over the field. Changbin squeezes his hand and pulls him down to the lake, carefully guiding him to sit down so they can look out at the water. The sound of bugs and wildlife fill the silence, a breeze passes over them and causes the water to ripple, a flock of birds fly overhead. It’s peaceful, Seungmin thinks. Sometimes he wishes he could stay here.

“Ready for the first day of the rest of our lives?” Changbin asks, finally.

Seungmin looks over at him. A year ago, he would’ve actively rejected the idea of leading an entire kingdom. Now, he couldn’t imagine _not_ having his throne. With a soft smile, he nods.

“Yeah, I am.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, so  
> omg  
> this fic is definitely, 100% my baby. i adore it so much, i adore this seungbin so much. i adore all the characters so, so much. 
> 
> so like i said at the beginning, there will, at least, be a part two. however, i cannot guarantee it'll be out before the year is over, simply because i'm trying to figure out where it'll go and how it'll end. i have lots of little ideas, but filling in the blanks is the biggest struggle right now. however, it will happen! i promise! there's too many loose ends to tie up to just leave it as is.
> 
> thank you for everyone who's stuck around read up until now, and i hope you'll stick around for the next part too!! if you want updates on that, or other stories i post, make sure to subscribe to me, not the series or fic.
> 
> also, i've read all your comments and they make me smile so much. i promise i'm not ignoring them, i just ... suck at answering hdjfjf but thank you so much for showing so much love and support. i appreciate it so, so, SO much
> 
> existing character art [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/novabins?s=21)
> 
> [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/jisungsgIow)

**Author's Note:**

> edit :: look ! i made art for this au ! [here!](https://twitter.com/little_bluefool/status/1344490431954833409?s=21)


End file.
